From Lockdown to Liberation: A Cross-Time Network Comparison of Social Media Use and Psychological Well-Being Among Young Adults

Abstract

This study utilized the COVID-19 pandemic as a natural experiment, conducting a retrospective cross-time comparison of young adults’ social media use (SMU) and psychological well-being during and after the pandemic to assess changes in the network structure linking the two. Surveys were conducted at the same five universities in both time periods. Undergraduates were invited to report on their SMU intensity, positive/honest self-presentation, online positive feedback, anxiety, loneliness, and self-esteem. A network analysis was mainly conducted to compare the two cohorts. A total of 803 (age = 20.88 ± 1.72) and 1,062 (age = 19.27 ± 1.21) students participated in the study in April 2020 and in April 2025, respectively. The study got three main findings: (1) during the pandemic, the SMU intensity significantly increased anxiety and loneliness; however, these associations were no longer significant in the post-pandemic period; (2) compared to during the pandemic, young adults’ self-expression on social media became more authentic and consistent in the post-pandemic period; and (3) compared with the pandemic-period network, self-esteem was more strongly associated with lower psychological distress and positive resources in the post-pandemic network. This study suggests that social disruption is an important context for understanding the associations between SMU and well-being, highlighting the significance of self-esteem and honest self-presentation in the contemporary social media landscape and providing empirical support for future policies and interventions in the digital era.