Is the period of time teenagers spend on social media really harming their health and mental health? Mental health problems are on the rise amongst young people worldwide. This coincides with the increasing period of time teenagers spend on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, X and Snapchat.
At least in the general public discourse, this connection has been interpreted as one thing: social media harms the mental health of our youth. But what does the evidence actually say?
Unfortunately, the scientific community has been unable to offer a definitive answer. Many studies report negative effects of social media use on youth. Many others provide evidence of positive effects, and even show no effect. The evidence base is mixed and conflicting.
For example, A recent study followed greater than 100,000 young Australians for 3 years. It found that moderate use of social media was related to positive health outcomes. Another one A large-scale study highlights a positive relationship between adolescent self-esteem and social media use for social support.
On the contrary, others Research A consistent link has been found between social media use and poor mental health outcomes in adolescents. Especially for girls.
Adding further to the complex picture, Other studies conclude that the connection between social media and adolescent health is weak and can’t be considered Medically relevant.
By taking a look at variables
In my own recent researchI used a way called specification curve evaluation (SCA) to research a publicly available lifestyle dataset of roughly 3,000 15- and 16-year-olds living within the west of Ireland. SCA is a computational method that shows the connection between all theoretically relevant variables in a dataset.
For example, my study examined the links between youths’ every day time spent on social media and outcomes reminiscent of self-esteem, perceived stress, anxiety, depression and weight loss program, in addition to their physical activity and sleep quality.
When considering all combos of relevant variables, my study estimated greater than 50,000 different pathways linking social media to youth health outcomes. The specification curve below relates how much time teenagers spend on social media to their health behaviors.
Eoin Whelan, Acta Psychologica, Volume 266, CC BY
Blue dots represent combos of variables that suggest the association between social media time and health behaviors is useful, and that the association is statistically significant. Red dots represent variable combos where the association is negatively correlated with more social media time. Gray dots are combos where the association between social media time and health behaviors will not be statistically significant.
For example, once we look exclusively at how much time adolescent boys on this dataset spend on social media, and the way much time they spend on physical exertion, the correlation is positive, so a blue point appears. More time on social media is reminiscent of physical exertion.
However, when ethnicity and family wealth are faraway from the evaluation as control variables – meaning the information aren’t any longer adjusted for these differences – that statistical connection disappears, hence becoming a gray dot. When all control variables are removed, reminiscent of age, race, school grade and family wealth, the connection between social media and physical activity for boys becomes negative and statistically significant: a red point. Basically, taking a look at the identical data in other ways yields different results.
When all possible associations are considered, my study overall concludes that yes, time on social media is related to poorer health outcomes in youth. In this graph, when all possible ways of taking a look at the information are examined, 64 percent consider that more time on social media is linked to poorer health.
However, the strength of those associations is small. When I compared these effects to other effects, reminiscent of feeling secure at college or having supportive parents, the consequences of social media are quite modest. In fact, time spent on social media is the least powerful predictor of adolescent health on this dataset.
It challenges the favored narrative that social media platforms are the actual culprits behind rising mental health issues. In fact, a recent report by US National Academies An identical conclusion was reached: There is not any strong evidence that social media causes mass harm.
Although the outcomes of my study are consistent with this approach, these results needs to be interpreted with caution and will not reflect the experience of all adolescents. There are risks related to social media platforms for young people, they usually deserve attention. And importantly, if we conclude that teenagers’ online spending doesn’t significantly harm their health, we also should admit that it doesn’t improve their health either.
If the goal is a healthy, completely satisfied teenager, interventions should goal what really matters: secure school environments, strong family support and addressing bullying. Teens in my study reported spending a median of two.5 hours per day on social media platforms. Decreasing this time in favor of activities proven to boost youth well-being – physical exertion, creative activities, volunteering – can be an efficient way forward.