ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Digital Mental Health
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1630275
This article is part of the Research TopicSocial Interaction in Cyberspace: Online Gaming, Social Media, and Mental HealthView all 7 articles
Digital loneliness as a new diagnostic category in psychiatry: the impact of technology and social media use on psychological well-being
Provisionally accepted
- 1Department of Psychiatry, Department of Neurology, Faculty of Health Sciences in Katowice, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland, Katowice, Poland
- 2Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medical Sciences in Zabrze, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland, Katowice, Poland
- 3Department and Clinic of Psychiatric Rehabilitation in Katowice, Faculty of Medical Sciences in Katowice, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland, Katowice, Poland
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Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the impact of social media use on users' subjective feelings of loneliness and the occurrence of anxiety symptoms, taking into account demographic variables such as age and education level.Material and methods: A total of 220 patients of the Mental Health Outpatient Clinic participated in the study and completed a self-administered survey questionnaire including demographic data, social media use patterns and assessment of experienced psychological symptoms.Results: Statistical analyses showed that younger users spend more time online, which correlates with higher feelings of loneliness and severity of anxiety symptoms, while higher levels of education are associated with less time online and better awareness of the dangers of excessive social media use.Conclusions: Social media leads to an increased sense of isolation. Excessive use of these platforms is associated with decreased sleep quality, decreased self-esteem, increased levels of stress and anxiety and an overall deterioration in users' mental health. The experience of digital loneliness varies according to the characteristics of users -young people, women and people with limitations are the most vulnerable to the negative effects of excessive social media use.
Keywords: digital loneliness, Social Media, Loneliness, Anxiety symptoms, digital hygiene, Mental Health, Education
Received: 17 May 2025; Accepted: 11 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Szawarnoga, Stasiniewicz, Fojcik and Krzystanek. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Joanna Fojcik, Department of Psychiatry, Department of Neurology, Faculty of Health Sciences in Katowice, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland, Katowice, Poland
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