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A growing number of studies have reported that problematic social networking use (PSNU) is strongly associated with anxiety symptoms. However, due to the presence of multiple anxiety subtypes, existing research findings on the extent of this association vary widely, leading to a lack of consensus. The current meta-analysis aimed to summarize studies exploring the relationship between PSNU levels and anxiety symptoms, including generalized anxiety, social anxiety, attachment anxiety, and fear of missing out. 209 studies with a total of 172 articles were included in the meta-analysis, involving 252,337 participants from 28 countries. The results showed a moderately positive association between PSNU and generalized anxiety (GA), social anxiety (SA), attachment anxiety (AA), and fear of missing out (FoMO) respectively (GA: r = 0.388, 95% CI [0.362, 0.413]; SA: r = 0.437, 95% CI [0.395, 0.478]; AA: r = 0.345, 95% CI [0.286, 0.402]; FoMO: r = 0.496, 95% CI [0.461, 0.529]), and there were different regulatory factors between PSNU and different anxiety subtypes. This study provides the first comprehensive estimate of the association of PSNU with multiple anxiety subtypes, which vary by time of measurement, region, gender, and measurement tool., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

This study aimed to reveal the relationship between social comparison on social media, anxiety, and emotional eating problems among Chinese adolescents.The effects of sociocultural pressure and gender difference were also tested. Data were collected from 551 adolescents aged 15–17 living in China's Shandong province. (1) Anxiety had a full mediating effect on the relationship between appearance-based social comparisons on social media and emotional eating. (2) Sociocultural pressure had a moderating effect on the relationship between social comparisons on social media and anxiety in both males and females. (3) Sociocultural pressure had an indirect effect on the relationship between appearance-based social comparisons on social media and emotional eating through anxiety in female but not male adolescents. Apart from the consistent effect of anxiety on emotional eating among all adolescents, our conclusions also open the possibility of different gender-based interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]