27th June 2023
The United States surgeon general has warned that social media is harming teenagers’ mental health. Although many scientists share the concern, there is little research to prove that social media is harmful, or to indicate which sites, apps or features are problematic.
Most studies look at platforms with user-generated content, where people can interact. But that raises many questions. Does it matter if teenagers see posts from people they know or do not know? Does it make a difference if they post or just view?
Reviews of the existing studies on social media use and adolescents’ mental health have found the bulk of them to be “weak”, “inconsistent”, “inconclusive” and “a bag of mixed findings”, and to be “weighed down by a lack of quality” and “conflicting evidence”. Research has not yet shown which sites, apps or features of social media have which effects on mental health.