By: Troy Weeldreyer, MSW, LCSW, MPH
The past 15 years have seen the explosive rise of social media (e.g., internet-based platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Twitter/X, etc). Instantaneous, free, and easily accessible to anyone with an internet connection, social media is a powerful form of communication that connects users to family, friends, companies, and billions of other people around the planet. These sites are enormously popular, particularly among young people, who spend an average of nearly 5 hours a day on social media (DeAngelis, 2024).
In this same period, rates of anxiety and depression, particularly among youths and adolescents, have increased dramatically (Abrams, 2023). While the reasons behind this are complex and interconnected, many have pointed to social media as a major driver of a “youth mental health crisis” (Gupta, 2024). Some make the case that heavy social media use exposes youths (and the general population) to negative material like violence, sexual imagery and writing, and other inappropriate content. Others point to factors unique to social media communities like cyber-bullying, “fear of missing out” (FOMO), and “social contagion” of others’ mental health struggles as contributing to overall decline in youth mental health.
On the other hand, many people report that social media is an overall positive in their lives. They may identify that social media has made it much easier to stay in touch with loved ones who live far away, find like-minded people to build community with, or perhaps enables them to start and build a business.
What the Research Says
Currently, we do not have enough evidence to say that social media is definitively causing the rise in anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges. However, the research is starting to bring clarity to the controversial topic of problematic social media use (PSMU). Researchers have identified that the people (particularly youths) who tend to spend more time on social media generally report worse mental health than those who spend less time on social media (Montag et al., 2024). These people are also more likely to report symptoms that are consistent with having an addiction, such as feeling like they are not in control of their behavior, preoccupation with using social media, and experiencing withdrawal symptoms (Boer et al., 2020). Other research has looked at other associations with heavy social media use, such as ADHD (Thorell et al., 2022) and differences in brain activity involved with addictive behaviors (Westbrook, 2021).
However, researchers involved in studying PMSU say that there are still many questions to be answered about this issue. For instance, why do some adolescents become essentially “addicted” to social media and others do not? Is addiction even a good way to characterize PMSU? Are some social media sites or content “worse” than others? These and many other questions prevent us from making sweeping generalizations about social media use, like we have with other addictive substances (e.g., alcohol, tobacco) or behaviors (e.g., gambling).
Recommendations
While we cannot currently say that social media causes mental health issues, for some people it clearly does more harm than good. For people concerned about their own or their loved one’s social media use, it may be helpful to ask some questions about their use. Some questions might be:
How much time am I (or my loved one) spending on social media during the day?
Do I find myself spending more time on social media than I would like to be?
Am I letting important things slip or lapse because of how much time I am spending on social media?
Do I feel worse or better about myself or others after spending time on social media?
The U.S. Surgeon General has also published recommendations for parents, children, and others involved in social media for youth. These include coming up with a family social media action plan, reducing screen time and monitoring how much time is spent on social media, turning off notifications, taking breaks, encouraging youth to participate in in-person social events and friendships, and parents modeling good social media use themselves. Current research also strongly suggests that no child under 13 should be using social media at all (Montag et al., 2024).
Conclusion
The coming years will almost certainly see more research and recommendations come out regarding social media usage. We do not currently know if social media, like commercial tobacco products, will be found to be completely detrimental to human health and well-being. More likely, we will begin to develop clearer recommendations for general social media usage, stricter age restrictions, and using AI and other tools to monitor and remove certain content on these sites. If you are concerned about your or someone else’s social media use, try following the recommendations above. You may also schedule an assessment with a Nizhoni Counseling therapist, who can help explore your social media use and come up with a plan that works for you and your goals.
References
Abrams, Z. (2023). Kids’ mental health is in crisis. Here’s what psychologists are doing to help. American Psychological Association, 54 (1). https://www.apa.org/monitor/2023/01/trends-improving-youth-mental-health.
Arrivillaga, C., Rey, L., & Extremera, N. (2022). A mediated path from emotional intelligence to problematic social media use in adolescents: The serial mediation of perceived stress and depressive symptoms. Addictive Behaviors, 124, 107095.
Boer, M., Van Den Eijnden, R. J., Boniel-Nissim, M., Wong, S. L., Inchley, J. C., Badura, P., ... & Stevens, G. W. (2020). Adolescents' intense and problematic social media use and their well-being in 29 countries. Journal of adolescent health, 66(6), S89-S99.
DeAngelis, T. (2024, April 1). Teens are spending nearly 5 hours daily on social media. Here are the mental health outcomes. Monitor on psychology 55, 3.https://www.apa.org/monitor/2024/04/teen-social-use-mental-health
Gupta, S. (2024). Social media harms teens’ mental health, mounting evidence shows. Now what? Science News. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/social-media-teens-mental-health
Social Media and Youth Mental Health. https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/priorities/youth-mental-health/social-media/index.html
Montag, C., Demetrovics, Z., Elhai, J. D., Grant, D., Koning, I., Rumpf, H. J., ... & van den Eijnden, R. (2024). Problematic social media use in childhood and adolescence. Addictive behaviors, 107980.
Thorell, L. B., Buren, J., Ström Wiman, J., Sandberg, D., & Nutley, S. B. (2022). Longitudinal associations between digital media use and ADHD symptoms in children and adolescents: a systematic literature review. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 1-24.
Westbrook, A., Ghosh, A., van den Bosch, R., Määttä, J. I., Hofmans, L., & Cools, R. (2021). Striatal dopamine synthesis capacity reflects smartphone social activity. IScience, 24(5).
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