The impact of social media on adolescent mental health

More and more teens are using social media every year, despite headlines and studies showing that digital media use negatively impacts their mental health.

A recent Pew Research Center survey showed that a strong majority of teens describe their social media use as “almost constant.” The survey found that using social media can help teens become aware of their boundaries, rather than relying on things like curfews or other limits set by parents.

YouTube is the dominant platform used by teens, at 93%. Next come TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram.

The survey also showed that teens' use of sites and apps did not change much between 2022 and 2023. The number of teens using these platforms remained stable between the two years, with the percentage of teens using apps like TikTok remaining the same.

“On the playing field of the digital world, there will be fun, excitement, connections and a sense of acceptance,” said Linda Charmaraman, senior research scientist at the Wellesley Center for Women. “But there will also be, 'oh my God, my life doesn't look as good as them. I have FOMO, people are mean and spread rumors.'”

Teens can turn to their close contacts for help in dealing with what they see online, such as their cousins, aunts and uncles or other connections who can help them understand how to protect themselves in a digital space.

There are pros and cons to using social media, not just among teenagers, but at any age. Different groups of people experience it in different ways, Charmaraman said, depending on maturity level and friend groups.

Charmaraman also said that while there are many studies on social media and mental health, the links are correlational studies, associating one topic with another and not digging as deep as necessary. These studies also focus on older youth, usually college students and not adolescents.

Teens and “tweens” have different cognitive abilities and developmental tasks that they are working on, making the impact of social media on their lives more significant.