Minireviews
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Psychiatry. Jul 19, 2022; 12(7): 897-903
Published online Jul 19, 2022. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v12.i7.897
Social media and schizophrenia: An update on clinical applications
Lakshan N Fonseka, Benjamin K P Woo
Lakshan N Fonseka, Harvard South Shore–Psychiatry Residency Program, Veteran Affairs Boston Healthcare System, Brockton, MA 02301, United States
Benjamin K P Woo, Chinese American Health Promotion Program, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Olive View-University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center, Sylmar, CA 91104, United States
Author contributions: Fonseka LN and Woo BKP both performed the collection of data and contributed to the manuscript drafting; all authors have read and approve the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Benjamin K P Woo, MD, Professor, Chinese American Health Promotion Program, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Olive View-University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center, 14445 Olive View Drive, Sylmar, CA 91104, United States. bkpwoo@gmail.com
Received: February 23, 2022
Peer-review started: February 23, 2022
First decision: May 11, 2022
Revised: May 18, 2022
Accepted: June 18, 2022
Article in press: June 18, 2022
Published online: July 19, 2022
Processing time: 145 Days and 11.8 Hours
Abstract

Social media has redesigned the landscape of human interaction, and data obtained through these platforms are promising for schizophrenia diagnosis and management. Recent research shows mounting evidence that machine learning analysis of social media content is capable of not only differentiating schizophrenia patients from healthy controls, but also predicting conversion to psychosis and symptom exacerbations. Novel platforms such as Horyzons show promise for improving social functioning and providing timely access to therapeutic resources. Social media is also a considerable means to assess and lessen the stigma surrounding schizophrenia. Herein, the relevant literature pertaining to social media and its clinical applications in schizophrenia over the past five years are summarized, followed by a discussion centered on user feedback to highlight future directions. Social media provides valuable contributions to a multifaceted digital phenotype that may improve schizophrenia care in the near future.

Keywords: Social media; Schizophrenia; Digital phenotype; Facebook; YouTube; Instagram

Core Tip: Recent literature demonstrates that social media data analysis guided by machine learning can differentiate users with schizophrenia from healthy controls as well as predict conversion to psychosis and symptom exacerbations. Novel platforms such as Horyzons can improve social functioning in schizophrenia patients, but long-term engagement is a challenge that may be addressed by streamlining the user experience.