Exploring social media use and psychological well-being in higher education: a bibliometric analysis of trends and themes

Purpose To map and synthesize research on the patterns of associations between social media use and psychological well-being among higher-education populations. Design/methodology/approach Bibliometric review of 467 Web of Science records (articles/reviews; searched date: December 11, 2024) spanning 2019 to 2024. We applied bibliographic coupling and co-word analysis using VOSviewer with standardized keywords (stemming, stop-word removal; minimum co-occurrence threshold; and association-strength normalization). Findings Four robust clusters emerged: (1) pandemic-related stress and disparities; (2) FoMO/social comparison and affect; (3) problematic or excessive use and its correlates (anxiety, depression, loneliness); and (4) technology affordances, engagement, and subjective well-being. These findings reflect recurrent patterns in the literature rather than causal effects. Active/meaningful use is often linked to social support and life satisfaction, whereas passive, exposure-heavy, or dysregulated use is often linked to stress and poor well-being. Research limitations/implications Reliance on a single, English-language database may under-represent region-specific scholarship and introduce citation lag and publication-language bias. Consistent with bibliometric methods, the results describe associations rather than causal relationships. Practical implications Provides evidence-informed guidance for universities and student counselling services to support digital-hygiene education and platform-sensitive, prevention-focused interventions. Social implications Clarifies opportunities to foster connectedness while identifying risk profiles and usage patterns that warrant prevention. Originality/value This study provides a transparent, open, and reproducible network-level mapping centered on higher-education cohorts and platform-sensitive insights.