Research points to a connection between social media use and mental health problems.
Get the facts to understand how social media and youth mental health are connected.
The Research
Hundreds of peer-reviewed papers have studied social media and adolescent mental health.
Most find a connection.
The Consensus
Social media use, particularly on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook, correlates with poorer mental health in adolescents.
Teen girls are more at risk than boys.
Not all screen time is associated with mental health risks: texting, emails, academic work, and video games often have neutral or positive impacts.
Some young people are more likely to find positive social connections online, for example LGBTQ+ youth.
The Limitations
The findings are debated among researchers, especially studies using small, non-representative samples.
Time on social media and mental health issues are positively correlated – they trend in the same direction. But we cannot say that one causes the other.
The lack of long-term studies limits our ability to study the effects of social media use over time.
There are limited studies available on social media use, and newer platforms like TikTok are particularly understudied.
