Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the mental well-being and secondary traumatic stress levels of individuals who use social media following the Kahramanmaras,-centered earthquakes in Turkey. Method: The research was designed as a cross-sectional study type. The online cross-sectional study involved 418 participants residing in Turkey who actively use social media and were not directly affected by the earthquake. The data were collected using the Sociodemographic Information Form, the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale for Social Media Users, and the 12-item General Health Questionnaire. Results: The study found that a significant portion of the participants, mainly residing in areas prone to first-and second-degree earthquake risk, encountered difficulties with their sleep and concentration within a week following the earthquake. Additionally, it was revealed that individuals who fell into specific categories, such as women, those who had experienced a traumatic event in the last year, individuals who spent four or more hours per day on social media, and those who checked social media right before and immediately after sleep, exhibited higher levels of traumatic stress. Multiple regression analyses indicated that age, gender, nightmares, difficulty concentrating, and checking social media in the morning were significantly associated with both GHQ-12 and STSS-SM scores. Difficulty concentrating emerged as the strongest predictor, whereas total time spent on social media and difficulties initiating sleep were not significant once other variables were included in the model. Moreover, these groups had overall health that was more negatively affected. Conclusion: To protect society from secondary traumatic stress during large-scale disasters, we recommended promoting awareness about responsible social media use and the need to filter or limit exposure to distressing social media content.