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How does social media affect mental health?

The pros of social media, the cons of social media, what’s driving your social media use, signs that social media is impacting your mental health, how to change your social media use, step 1: reduce time online, step 2: change your focus, step 3: spend more time with offline friends, step 4: express gratitude, helping a child or teen with unhealthy social media use, social media and mental health are you addicted to social media.

While many of us enjoy staying connected on social media, excessive use can fuel feelings of addiction, anxiety, depression, isolation, and FOMO. Here’s how to modify your habits and improve your mood.

Human beings are social creatures. We need the companionship of others to thrive in life, and the strength of our connections has a huge impact on our mental health and happiness. Being socially connected to others can ease stress, anxiety, and depression, boost self-worth, provide comfort and joy, prevent loneliness, and even add years to your life. On the flip side, lacking strong social connections can pose a serious risk to your mental and emotional health.

In today’s world, many of us rely on social media platforms such as Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Snapchat, YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram to find and connect with each other. While each has its benefits, it’s important to remember that social media can never be a replacement for real-world human connection. It requires in-person contact with others to trigger the hormones that alleviate stress and make you feel happier, healthier, and more positive. Ironically for a technology that’s designed to bring people closer together, spending too much time engaging with social media can actually make you feel more lonely and isolated—and exacerbate mental health problems such as anxiety and depression.

If you’re spending an excessive amount of time on social media and feelings of sadness, dissatisfaction, frustration, or loneliness are impacting your life, it may be time to re-examine your online habits and find a healthier balance.  

Speak to a Licensed Therapist

BetterHelp is an online therapy service that matches you to licensed, accredited therapists who can help with depression, anxiety, relationships, and more. Take the assessment and get matched with a therapist in as little as 48 hours.

While virtual interaction on social media doesn’t have the same psychological benefits as face-to-face contact, there are still many positive ways in which it can help you stay connected and support your wellbeing.

Social media enables you to:

• Communicate and stay up to date with family and friends around the world.
• Find new friends and communities; network with other people who share similar interests or ambitions.
• Join or promote worthwhile causes; raise awareness on important issues.
• Seek or offer emotional support during tough times.
• Find vital social and professional connections (such as online therapy ) if you live in a remote area, for example, or have limited independence, social anxiety, or are part of a marginalized group.
• Find an outlet for your creativity and self-expression.
• Discover (with care) sources of valuable information and learning.

Since it’s a relatively new technology, there’s little research to establish the long-term consequences, good or bad, of social media use. However, multiple studies have found a strong link between heavy social media and an increased risk for depression, anxiety, loneliness, self-harm , and even suicidal thoughts .

Social media may promote negative experiences such as:

Inadequacy about your life or appearance . Even if you know that images you’re viewing on social media are manipulated, they can still make you feel insecure about how you look or what’s going on in your own life. Similarly, we’re all aware that other people tend to share just the highlights of their lives, rarely the low points that everyone experiences. But that doesn’t lessen those feelings of envy and dissatisfaction when you’re scrolling through a friend’s airbrushed photos of their tropical beach holiday or reading about their exciting new promotion at work.

Fear of missing out (FOMO) and social media addiction . While FOMO has been around far longer than social media, sites such as Facebook and Instagram seem to exacerbate feelings that others are having more fun or living better lives than you are. The idea that you’re missing out on certain things can impact your self-esteem, trigger anxiety, and fuel even greater social media use, much like an addiction. FOMO can compel you to pick up your phone every few minutes to check for updates, or compulsively respond to each and every alert—even if that means taking risks while you’re driving, missing out on sleep at night, or prioritizing social media interaction over real world relationships. 

Isolation . A study at the University of Pennsylvania found that high usage of Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram increases rather decreases feelings of loneliness . Conversely, the study found that reducing social media usage can actually make you feel less lonely and isolated and improve your overall wellbeing.

Depression and anxiety . Human beings need face-to-face contact to be mentally healthy. Nothing reduces stress and boosts your mood faster or more effectively than eye-to-eye contact with someone who cares about you. The more you prioritize social media interaction over in-person relationships, the more you’re at risk for developing or exacerbating mood disorders such as anxiety and depression .

Cyberbullying. About 10 percent of teens report being bullied on social media and many other users are subjected to offensive comments. Social media platforms such as Twitter can be hotspots for spreading hurtful rumors, lies, and abuse that can leave lasting emotional scars.

Self-absorption.  Sharing endless selfies and all your innermost thoughts on social media can create an unhealthy self-centeredness and distance you from real-life connections.

These days, most of us access social media via our smartphones or tablets. While this makes it very convenient to keep in touch, it also means that social media is always accessible. This round-the-clock, hyper connectivity can trigger impulse control problems, the constant alerts and notifications affecting your concentration and focus, disturbing your sleep, and making you a slave to your phone .

Social media platforms are designed to snare your attention, keep you online, and have you repeatedly checking your screen for updates. It’s how the companies make money. But, much like a gambling compulsion or an addiction to nicotine, alcohol, or drugs, social media use can create psychological cravings. When you receive a like, a share, or a favorable reaction to a post, it can trigger the release of dopamine in the brain, the same “reward” chemical that follows winning on a slot machine, taking a bite of chocolate, or lighting up a cigarette, for example. The more you’re rewarded, the more time you want to spend on social media, even if it becomes detrimental to other aspects of your life.

Other causes of unhealthy social media use

A fear of missing out (FOMO) can keep you returning to social media over and over again. Even though there are very few things that can’t wait or need an immediate response, FOMO will have you believing otherwise. Perhaps you’re worried that you’ll be left out of the conversation at school or work if you miss the latest news or gossip on social media? Or maybe you feel that your relationships will suffer if you don’t immediately like, share, or respond to other people’s posts? Or you could be worried you’ll miss out on an invitation or that other people are having a better time than you.

Many of us use social media as a “security blanket”. Whenever we’re in a social situation and feel anxious, awkward, or lonely, we turn to our phones and log on to social media. Of course, interacting with social media only denies you the face-to-face interaction that can help to ease anxiety .

Your heavy social media use could be masking other underlying problems , such as stress, depression, or boredom. If you spend more time on social media when you’re feeling down, lonely, or bored, you may be using it as a way to distract yourself from unpleasant feelings or self-soothe your moods. While it can be difficult at first, allowing yourself to feel can open you up to finding healthier ways to manage your moods .

The vicious cycle of unhealthy social media use

Excessive social media use can create a negative, self-perpetuating cycle:

• When you feel lonely, depressed, anxious, or stressed, you use social media more often—as a way to relieve boredom or feel connected to others.
• Using social media more often, though, increases FOMO and feelings of inadequacy, dissatisfaction, and isolation.
• In turn, these feelings negatively affect your mood and worsen symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress.
• These worsening symptoms cause you to use social media even more, and so the downward spiral continues.

Everyone is different and there is no specific amount of time spent on social media, or the frequency you check for updates, or the number of posts you make that indicates your use is becoming unhealthy. Rather, it has to do with the impact time spent on social media has on your mood and other aspects of your life, along with your motivations for using it.

For example, your social media use may be problematic if it causes you to neglect face-to-face relationships, distracts you from work or school, or leaves you feeling envious, angry, or depressed. Similarly, if you’re motivated to use social media just because you’re bored or lonely, or want to post something to make others jealous or upset, it may be time to reassess your social media habits.

Indicators that social media may be adversely affecting your mental health include:

Spending more time on social media than with real world friends . Using social media has become a substitute for a lot of your offline social interaction. Even if you’re out with friends, you still feel the need to constantly check social media, often driven by feelings that others may be having more fun than you.

Comparing yourself unfavorably with others on social media . You have low self-esteem or negative body image. You may even have patterns of disordered eating.

Experiencing cyberbullying . Or you worry that you have no control over the things people post about you.

Being distracted at school or work . You feel pressure to post regular content about yourself, get comments or likes on your posts, or respond quickly and enthusiastically to friends’ posts.

Having no time for self-reflection . Every spare moment is filled by engaging with social media, leaving you little or no time for reflecting on who you are, what you think, or why you act the way that you do—the things that allow you to grow as a person.

Engaging in risky behavior in order to gain likes , shares, or positive reactions on social media. You play dangerous pranks, post embarrassing material, cyberbully others, or access your phone while driving or in other unsafe situations.  

[ Read: Dealing with Revenge Porn and “Sextortion” ]

Suffering from sleep problems . Do you check social media last thing at night, first thing in the morning, or even when you wake up in the night? The light from phones and other devices can disrupt your sleep , which in turn can have a serious impact on your mental health.

Worsening symptoms of anxiety or depression . Rather than helping to alleviate negative feelings and boost your mood, you feel more anxious, depressed, or lonely after using social media.

If you feel that your social media use has become an addiction, or it’s fueling your levels of anxiety, depression, FOMO, or sense of isolation, the following steps can help you modify your habits:

A 2018 University of Pennsylvania study found that reducing social media use to 30 minutes a day resulted in a significant reduction in levels of anxiety, depression, loneliness, sleep problems, and FOMO. But you don’t need to cut back on your social media use that drastically to improve your mental health. The same study concluded that just being more mindful of your social media use can have beneficial results on your mood and focus.  

While 30 minutes a day may not be a realistic target for many of us—let alone a full “social media detox”— we can still benefit from reducing the amount of time we spend on social media. For most of us, that means reducing how much we use our smartphones. The following tips can help:

• Use an app to track how much time you spend on social media each day. Then set a goal for how much you want to reduce it by.
• Turn off your phone at certain times of the day, such as when you’re driving, in a meeting, at the gym, having dinner, spending time with offline friends, or playing with your kids. Don’t take your phone with you to the bathroom.
• Don’t bring your phone or tablet to bed . Turn devices off and leave them in another room overnight to charge.
• Disable social media notifications. It’s hard to resist the constant buzzing, beeping, and dinging of your phone alerting you to new messages. Turning off notifications can help you regain control of your time and focus.
• Limit checks. If you compulsively check your phone every few minutes, wean yourself off by limiting your checks to once every 15 minutes. Then once every 30 minutes, then once an hour. There are apps that can automatically limit when you’re able to access your phone.
• Try removing social media apps from your phone so you can only check Facebook, Twitter and the like from your tablet or computer. If this sounds like too drastic a step, try removing one social media app at a time to see how much you really miss it.

For more tips on reducing your overall phone use, read Smartphone Addiction .

Many of us access social media purely out of habit or to mindlessly kill moments of downtime. But by focusing on your motivation for logging on, you can not only reduce the time you spend on social media, you can also improve your experience and avoid many of the negative aspects.

If you’re accessing social media to find specific information, check on a friend who’s been ill, or share new photos of your kids with family, for example, your experience is likely to be very different than if you’re logging on simply because you’re bored, you want to see how many likes you got from a previous post, or to check if you’re missing out on something.

Next time you go to access social media, pause for a moment and clarify your motivation for doing so.

Are you using social media as a substitute for real life? Is there a healthier substitute for your social media use? If you’re lonely, for example, invite a friend out for coffee instead. Feeling depressed? Take a walk or go to the gym. Bored? Take up a new hobby. Social media may be quick and convenient, but there are often healthier, more effective ways to satisfy a craving.

Are you an active or a passive user on social media? Passively scrolling through posts or anonymously following the interaction of others on social media doesn’t provide any meaningful sense of connection. It may even increase feelings of isolation. Being an active participant, though, will offer you more engagement with others.

Does social media leave you feeling inadequate or disappointed about your life? You can counter symptoms of FOMO by focusing on what you have, rather than what you lack. Make a list of all the positive aspects of your life and read it back when you feel you’re missing out on something better. And remember: no one’s life is ever as perfect as it seems on social media. We all deal with heartache, self-doubt, and disappointment, even if we choose not to share it online.  

We all need the face-to-face company of others to be happy and healthy. At its best, social media is a great tool for facilitating real-life connections. But if you’ve allowed virtual connections to replace real-life friendships in your life, there are plenty of ways to build meaningful connections without relying on social media.

Set aside time each week to interact offline with friends and family. Try to make it a regular get-together where you always keep your phones off.

If you’ve neglected face-to-face friendships, reach out to an old friend (or an online friend) and arrange to meet up. If you both lead busy lives, offer to run errands or exercise together .

Join a club . Find a hobby, creative endeavor, or fitness activity you enjoy and join a group of like-minded individuals that meet on a regular basis.

Don’t let social awkwardness stand in the way . Even if you’re shy, there are proven techniques to  overcome insecurity and build friendships .

If you don’t feel that you have anyone to spend time with, reach out to acquaintances . Lots of other people feel just as uncomfortable about making new friends as you do—so be the one to break the ice. Invite a coworker out for lunch or ask a neighbor or classmate to join you for coffee.

Interact with strangers . Look up from your screen and connect with people you cross paths with on public transport, at the coffee shop, or in the grocery store. Simply smiling or saying hello will improve how you feel—and you never know where it may lead.

Feeling and expressing gratitude about the important things in your life can be a welcome relief to the resentment, animosity, and discontent sometimes generated by social media.

Take time for reflection . Try keeping a gratitude journal or using a gratitude app. Keep track of all the great memories and positives in your life—as well as those things and people you’d miss if they were suddenly absent from your life. If you’re more prone to venting or negative posts, you can even express your gratitude on social media—although you may benefit more from private reflection that isn’t subject to the scrutiny of others. 

[Read: Gratitude: The Benefits and How to Practice It]

Practice mindfulness . Experiencing FOMO and comparing yourself unfavorably to others keeps you dwelling on life’s disappointments and frustrations. Instead of being fully engaged in the present, you’re focused on the “what ifs” and the “if onlys” that prevent you from having a life that matches those you see on social media. By practicing mindfulness , you can learn to live more in the present moment, lessen the impact of FOMO, and improve your overall mental wellbeing.

Volunteer . Just as human beings are hard-wired to seek social connection, we’re also hard-wired to give to others. Helping other people or animals not only enriches your community and benefits a cause that’s important to you, but it also makes you feel happier and more grateful.

Childhood and the teenage years can be filled with developmental challenges and social pressures. For some kids, social media has a way of exacerbating those problems and fueling anxiety, bullying , depression , and issues with self-esteem.

If you’re worried about your child’s social media use, it can be tempting to simply confiscate their phone or other device. But that can create further problems, separating your child from their friends and the positive aspects of social media. Instead, there are other ways to help your child use TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms in a more responsible way.

Monitor and limit your child’s social media use. The more you know about how your child is interacting on social media, the better you’ll be able to address any problems. Parental control apps can help limit your child’s data usage or restrict their phone use to certain times of the day. You can also adjust privacy settings on the different platforms to limit their potential exposure to bullies or predators.

Talk to your child about underlying issues. Problems with social media use can often mask deeper issues. Is your child having problems fitting in at school? Are they suffering from shyness or social anxiety? Are problems at home causing them stress?

Enforce “social media” breaks. For example, you could ban social media until your child has completed their homework in the evening, not allow phones at the dinner table or in their bedroom, and plan family activities that preclude the use of phones or other devices. To prevent sleep problems, always insist phones are turned off at least one hour before bed.

Teach your child how social media is not an accurate reflection of people’s lives. They shouldn’t compare themselves or their lives negatively to others on social media. People only post what they want others to see. Images are manipulated or carefully posed and selected. And having fewer friends on social media doesn’t make your child less popular or less worthy.

Encourage exercise and offline interests. Get your child away from social media by encouraging them to pursue physical activities and hobbies that involve real-world interaction. Exercise is great for relieving anxiety and stress , boosting self-esteem, and improving mood—and is something you can do as a family. The more engaged your child is offline, the less their mood and sense of self-worth will be dependent on how many friends, likes, or shares they have on social media. 

More Information

• Study into wellbeing and social media - Details study linking time spent on social media with decreased wellbeing. (Penn Today, University of Pennsylvania)
• Impact on the mental health of young people - Briefing paper analyzing the impact of social media. (Centre for Mental Health)
• Linking child depression - How heavy Instagram and Facebook use may be affecting kids negatively. (Child Mind Institute)
• Hunt, Melissa G., Rachel Marx, Courtney Lipson, and Jordyn Young. “No More FOMO: Limiting Social Media Decreases Loneliness and Depression.” Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology 37, no. 10 (December 2018): 751–68. Link
• Riehm, Kira E., Kenneth A. Feder, Kayla N. Tormohlen, Rosa M. Crum, Andrea S. Young, Kerry M. Green, Lauren R. Pacek, Lareina N. La Flair, and Ramin Mojtabai. “Associations Between Time Spent Using Social Media and Internalizing and Externalizing Problems Among US Youth.” JAMA Psychiatry 76, no. 12 (December 1, 2019): 1266. Link
• Anderson, Monica. (2018, September 27). A majority of teens have been the target of cyberbullying, with name-calling and rumor-spreading being the most common forms of harassment. Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech. Link
• Kross, Ethan, Philippe Verduyn, Emre Demiralp, Jiyoung Park, David Seungjae Lee, Natalie Lin, Holly Shablack, John Jonides, and Oscar Ybarra. “Facebook Use Predicts Declines in Subjective Well-Being in Young Adults.” PLOS ONE 8, no. 8 (August 14, 2013): e69841. Link
• Twenge, Jean M., Thomas E. Joiner, Megan L. Rogers, and Gabrielle N. Martin. “Increases in Depressive Symptoms, Suicide-Related Outcomes, and Suicide Rates Among U.S. Adolescents After 2010 and Links to Increased New Media Screen Time.” Clinical Psychological Science 6, no. 1 (January 1, 2018): 3–17. Link
• Ilakkuvan, Vinu, Amanda Johnson, Andrea C. Villanti, W. Douglas Evans, and Monique Turner. “Patterns of Social Media Use and Their Relationship to Health Risks Among Young Adults.” Journal of Adolescent Health 64, no. 2 (February 2019): 158–64. Link
• Primack, Brian A., Ariel Shensa, Jaime E. Sidani, Erin O. Whaite, Liu Yi Lin, Daniel Rosen, Jason B. Colditz, Ana Radovic, and Elizabeth Miller. “Social Media Use and Perceived Social Isolation Among Young Adults in the U.S.” American Journal of Preventive Medicine 53, no. 1 (July 2017): 1–8. Link

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Science News

Social media harms teens’ mental health, mounting evidence shows. what now.

Understanding what is going on in teens’ minds is necessary for targeted policy suggestions

Most teens use social media, often for hours on end. Some social scientists are confident that such use is harming their mental health. Now they want to pinpoint what explains the link.

Carol Yepes/Getty Images

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By Sujata Gupta

February 20, 2024 at 7:30 am

In January, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook’s parent company Meta, appeared at a congressional hearing to answer questions about how social media potentially harms children. Zuckerberg opened by saying: “The existing body of scientific work has not shown a causal link between using social media and young people having worse mental health.”

But many social scientists would disagree with that statement. In recent years, studies have started to show a causal link between teen social media use and reduced well-being or mood disorders, chiefly depression and anxiety.

Ironically, one of the most cited studies into this link focused on Facebook.

Researchers delved into whether the platform’s introduction across college campuses in the mid 2000s increased symptoms associated with depression and anxiety. The answer was a clear yes , says MIT economist Alexey Makarin, a coauthor of the study, which appeared in the November 2022 American Economic Review . “There is still a lot to be explored,” Makarin says, but “[to say] there is no causal evidence that social media causes mental health issues, to that I definitely object.”

The concern, and the studies, come from statistics showing that social media use in teens ages 13 to 17 is now almost ubiquitous. Two-thirds of teens report using TikTok, and some 60 percent of teens report using Instagram or Snapchat, a 2022 survey found. (Only 30 percent said they used Facebook.) Another survey showed that girls, on average, allot roughly 3.4 hours per day to TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, compared with roughly 2.1 hours among boys. At the same time, more teens are showing signs of depression than ever, especially girls ( SN: 6/30/23 ).

As more studies show a strong link between these phenomena, some researchers are starting to shift their attention to possible mechanisms. Why does social media use seem to trigger mental health problems? Why are those effects unevenly distributed among different groups, such as girls or young adults? And can the positives of social media be teased out from the negatives to provide more targeted guidance to teens, their caregivers and policymakers?

“You can’t design good public policy if you don’t know why things are happening,” says Scott Cunningham, an economist at Baylor University in Waco, Texas.

Increasing rigor

Concerns over the effects of social media use in children have been circulating for years, resulting in a massive body of scientific literature. But those mostly correlational studies could not show if teen social media use was harming mental health or if teens with mental health problems were using more social media.

Moreover, the findings from such studies were often inconclusive, or the effects on mental health so small as to be inconsequential. In one study that received considerable media attention, psychologists Amy Orben and Andrew Przybylski combined data from three surveys to see if they could find a link between technology use, including social media, and reduced well-being. The duo gauged the well-being of over 355,000 teenagers by focusing on questions around depression, suicidal thinking and self-esteem.

Digital technology use was associated with a slight decrease in adolescent well-being , Orben, now of the University of Cambridge, and Przybylski, of the University of Oxford, reported in 2019 in Nature Human Behaviour . But the duo downplayed that finding, noting that researchers have observed similar drops in adolescent well-being associated with drinking milk, going to the movies or eating potatoes.

Holes have begun to appear in that narrative thanks to newer, more rigorous studies.

In one longitudinal study, researchers — including Orben and Przybylski — used survey data on social media use and well-being from over 17,400 teens and young adults to look at how individuals’ responses to a question gauging life satisfaction changed between 2011 and 2018. And they dug into how the responses varied by gender, age and time spent on social media.

Social media use was associated with a drop in well-being among teens during certain developmental periods, chiefly puberty and young adulthood, the team reported in 2022 in Nature Communications . That translated to lower well-being scores around ages 11 to 13 for girls and ages 14 to 15 for boys. Both groups also reported a drop in well-being around age 19. Moreover, among the older teens, the team found evidence for the Goldilocks Hypothesis: the idea that both too much and too little time spent on social media can harm mental health.

“There’s hardly any effect if you look over everybody. But if you look at specific age groups, at particularly what [Orben] calls ‘windows of sensitivity’ … you see these clear effects,” says L.J. Shrum, a consumer psychologist at HEC Paris who was not involved with this research. His review of studies related to teen social media use and mental health is forthcoming in the Journal of the Association for Consumer Research.

Cause and effect

That longitudinal study hints at causation, researchers say. But one of the clearest ways to pin down cause and effect is through natural or quasi-experiments. For these in-the-wild experiments, researchers must identify situations where the rollout of a societal “treatment” is staggered across space and time. They can then compare outcomes among members of the group who received the treatment to those still in the queue — the control group.

That was the approach Makarin and his team used in their study of Facebook. The researchers homed in on the staggered rollout of Facebook across 775 college campuses from 2004 to 2006. They combined that rollout data with student responses to the National College Health Assessment, a widely used survey of college students’ mental and physical health.

The team then sought to understand if those survey questions captured diagnosable mental health problems. Specifically, they had roughly 500 undergraduate students respond to questions both in the National College Health Assessment and in validated screening tools for depression and anxiety. They found that mental health scores on the assessment predicted scores on the screenings. That suggested that a drop in well-being on the college survey was a good proxy for a corresponding increase in diagnosable mental health disorders. 

Compared with campuses that had not yet gained access to Facebook, college campuses with Facebook experienced a 2 percentage point increase in the number of students who met the diagnostic criteria for anxiety or depression, the team found.

When it comes to showing a causal link between social media use in teens and worse mental health, “that study really is the crown jewel right now,” says Cunningham, who was not involved in that research.

A need for nuance

The social media landscape today is vastly different than the landscape of 20 years ago. Facebook is now optimized for maximum addiction, Shrum says, and other newer platforms, such as Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok, have since copied and built on those features. Paired with the ubiquity of social media in general, the negative effects on mental health may well be larger now.

Moreover, social media research tends to focus on young adults — an easier cohort to study than minors. That needs to change, Cunningham says. “Most of us are worried about our high school kids and younger.” 

And so, researchers must pivot accordingly. Crucially, simple comparisons of social media users and nonusers no longer make sense. As Orben and Przybylski’s 2022 work suggested, a teen not on social media might well feel worse than one who briefly logs on. 

Researchers must also dig into why, and under what circumstances, social media use can harm mental health, Cunningham says. Explanations for this link abound. For instance, social media is thought to crowd out other activities or increase people’s likelihood of comparing themselves unfavorably with others. But big data studies, with their reliance on existing surveys and statistical analyses, cannot address those deeper questions. “These kinds of papers, there’s nothing you can really ask … to find these plausible mechanisms,” Cunningham says.

One ongoing effort to understand social media use from this more nuanced vantage point is the SMART Schools project out of the University of Birmingham in England. Pedagogical expert Victoria Goodyear and her team are comparing mental and physical health outcomes among children who attend schools that have restricted cell phone use to those attending schools without such a policy. The researchers described the protocol of that study of 30 schools and over 1,000 students in the July BMJ Open.

Goodyear and colleagues are also combining that natural experiment with qualitative research. They met with 36 five-person focus groups each consisting of all students, all parents or all educators at six of those schools. The team hopes to learn how students use their phones during the day, how usage practices make students feel, and what the various parties think of restrictions on cell phone use during the school day.

Talking to teens and those in their orbit is the best way to get at the mechanisms by which social media influences well-being — for better or worse, Goodyear says. Moving beyond big data to this more personal approach, however, takes considerable time and effort. “Social media has increased in pace and momentum very, very quickly,” she says. “And research takes a long time to catch up with that process.”

Until that catch-up occurs, though, researchers cannot dole out much advice. “What guidance could we provide to young people, parents and schools to help maintain the positives of social media use?” Goodyear asks. “There’s not concrete evidence yet.”

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How to break social media addiction, or spend less time online

• You may be able to break a social media addiction by going on a cleanse, setting limits, and deleting apps.
• While you don't need to abstain from social media entirely, experts say it's important to set limits.
• This article  was medically reviewed  by  Zlatin Ivanov, MD , who is certified in psychiatry and addiction psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology at  Psychiatrist NYC .
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories .

The American Society of Addiction Medicine defines addiction as a behavior that becomes compulsive or continues despite negative consequences. In 2017, 43% of Americans reported checking social media constantly, and 20% said social media is a source of stress. 

In addition, interacting with social media can trigger a dopamine response in the brain, similar to that triggered by drug or alcohol use. That response can leave you wanting more and feeling addicted. Here's how to fight it. 

How to break social media addiction

In 2018, people with internet access worldwide spent an average of 144 minutes on social media every day. Yet research indicates that limiting social media use to 30 minutes a day is optimal for mental health.  

Abstinence is often recommended for treating drug or alcohol addiction, but for social media addiction, the ideal psychological outcome is controlled use of the internet. It's not necessary to give up social media entirely, but it is important to have strategies for setting limits. 

Lin Sternlicht , a licensed mental health counselor at Family Addiction Specialist, recommends that people who are concerned about social media addiction take the following steps:

• Go on a social media cleanse: Challenge yourself to go a certain time without checking social media, whether it's for a few hours or an entire week. One 2019 study found that some students who went for five days without social media experienced a "sense of serenity," although others were afraid of missing out. 
• Delete apps, or disable notifications from social media: Most people check into social media mindlessly, so put a small barrier in the way by turning off notifications . If you don't see a social media icon or alert every time you pick up your phone, you're less likely to spend time there. 
• Set limits and stick to them. Most phones and tablets allow you to see the time you've spent on certain apps. Set a limit for your time spent on social media and stick to it, or use an app that blocks social media after you've hit your limit. For teens , the American Academy of Pediatrics also recommends that social media use not interfere with activities like family meals, exercise, or "unplugged downtime."
• Dedicate time to hobbies or activites. A hobby or new activity can help curb your desire to check in to social media. "The idea here is to fill up your free time with things that you enjoy that are good for you," Sternlicht says. "Naturally you will find less time to be on social media and more time to be present in life, and hopefully even socialize in person instead of through a screen."

Accountability is more important than abstinence 

Going on a digital detox — or totally abstaining from social media for a certain period of time — can be effective for some people, but not others, says Neha Chaudhary , MD, child and adolescent psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. 

"For some, it may break a cycle that has started to feel toxic or have negative effects," she says. "For others, stopping altogether may lead to craving its use and not being able to sustain the break, or might keep someone from accessing the beneficial parts of social media, like a way to stay connected and reach out for support."

Rather than relying on a total detox, Chaudhary recommends setting limits and recruiting some of your friends and family to join you. 

"Accountability plays a big role in trying to make any change," she says. "Maybe decide with a friend that you want to both reduce use, or tell your family member your goals so that they can check in with you about it. Whatever it is, find a way to have someone help keep you on track — breaking habits alone can be difficult."

In severe cases, someone who is worried about social media addiction should also consider seeking professional help from a therapist or mental health specialist.

Watch: I quit social media for 1 month — it was the best choice I ever made

• Main content

Social Media Addiction

The Cause and Result of Growing Social Problems

• Living reference work entry
• First Online: 21 June 2023
• Cite this living reference work entry

• Troy Smith 7  

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Accompanying the growth and increase in popularity of social media have been negative psychosocial and psychological effects associated with its excessive use. Research has shown a positive relationship between addiction-like behaviors associated with social media addiction (SMA) and psychological factors such as loneliness and low self-esteem, which demonstrate a congruency with recognized behavioral addictions. Adding to this congruency are the identified negative outcomes associated with SMA, which include difficulties in time perception, time management, maintaining interpersonal relationships, academic performance and increased prevalence of depression. According to the components model of addiction, the maladaptive behaviors/symptoms associated with problematic social media use (addiction) can be grouped into six dimensions, salience, tolerance, withdrawal, mood modification, conflict, and relapse. Studies have also identified several antecedents related to individual personality traits, fulfillment of psychological needs (relatedness, self-presentation, and social interaction), and perceived discrepancies between current and desired (or expected) interpersonal relationships (e.g., loneliness and low self-esteem). This chapter discusses the current understanding of SMA including its definition, measurement tools, and consequences. Further, it examines the underlying psychological and physiological explanations for addictive behaviors arising from social media use. The examination is based on a review of current theoretical understanding and the range of empirical studies, which examines the phenomena. Lastly, it highlights proposed social and policy approaches to alleviate the problem.

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Smith, T. (2023). Social Media Addiction. In: The Palgrave Handbook of Global Social Problems. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-68127-2_365-1

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social media addiction

May 17, 2023

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Social media addiction, also known as social media dependency or problematic social media use, refers to a compulsive and excessive reliance on social media platforms that negatively impacts an individual's daily functioning, well-being, and overall quality of life. It involves an inability to control or limit social media usage, resulting in negative consequences in various areas of life, including personal relationships, work or academic performance, and mental health.

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BLUE MOUNTAIN LOREM IPSUM DOLOR SIT AMET, CONSECTETUR ADIPISCING

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SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION CAUSES DOPAMINE RELEASE FEAR OF MISSING OUT (FOMO): ESCAPISM AND AVOIDANCE SOCIAL VALIDATION AND SELF-ESTEEM:

SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION CAUSES BOREDOM AND FILLING IDLE TIME ACCESSIBILITY AND CONVENIENCE: UNDERLYING MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES PEER INFLUENCE AND SOCIAL NORMS

SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION TREATMENTS COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL THERAPY (CBT): MINDFULNESS-BASED INTERVENTIONS: DIGITAL DETOX AND SELF-IMPOSED RESTRICTIONS SUPPORT GROUPS OR GROUP THERAPY:

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Exploring Association Between Social Media Addiction, Fear of Missing Out, and Self-Presentation Online Among University Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

Associated data.

The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.

Social media addiction (SMA) is known to be associated with excess use of social media. However, few studies have focused on the links of self-presentation on social media, fear of missing out (FoMO) and SMA. The present study investigated the relationships of self-presentation, FoMO and SMA among university students.

Online survey was conducted with 2,744 respondents, who completed online survey including social media use, FoMO and SMA. Self-presentation on social media and privacy information protection were assessed via researcher-designed questionnaires. Self-presentation on social media was composed of basic information shown on social media and expression willingness. Privacy information protection contained information viewed by others and privacy settings in social media platforms.

The most common information posted on social media were gender, hobby, age, personal photos, videos, and birthday. The most common social platforms with privacy setting were QQ zone (62.2%), WeChat (60.1%), and QQ (40.3%). FoMO ( OR = 2.852, P = 0.000), information viewed by others ( OR = 4.261, P = 0.000), managing a personal homepage (OR = 1.339, P = 0.002), accept a stranger's “friend request” ( OR = 1.251, P = 0.028) and undergraduate students and above ( OR = 1.439, P = 0.001) predicted expression willingness. FoMO ( OR = 5.278, P = 0.000), information viewed by others ( OR = 9.673, P = 0.000), privacy setting in QQ ( OR = 0.817, P = 0.002) and in Tik Tok ( OR = 0.536, P = 0.019) and female ( OR = 0.588, P = 0.004) significantly influenced basic information shown on social media. Furthermore, FoMO ( OR = 4.165, P = 0.000), expression willingness ( OR = 1.645, P = 0.000), and information viewed by others ( OR = 1.406, P = 0.000) positively affected the level of SMA. Risk of SMA increased as time spent on social media per day. However, basic information shown on social media did not significantly influence SMA.

In general, students with higher level of FoMO and expression willingness are more likely to experience SMA. These results highlight individual behaviors on social media should be considered as essential elements for assessing problematic engaging to social media.

Introduction

Social media has emerged as an integral part of individuals' daily lives in the cyber age. As of June 2020, there is about 970 million netizens in China ( 1 ). Additionally, the greatest number of Chinese netizens are students, accounting for 23.7%, and the proportion of Internet users among young people aged 20-29 has been estimated to be 19.9% ( 1 ). Regarding social applications in China, 85.0% of social network users are active on the Moments in WeChat, with 41.6% using Qzone and 40.4% using sina Weibo ( 1 ). Social media enables people to make new friends and maintain relationship without geographical or time constraints, access to information and find funny or entertaining contents ( 2 , 3 ), but excessive usage and the achieved pleasure leading to addiction ( 4 , 5 ). Against this circumstance, a critical issue has been seriously raised concerning the potential implications of social media use on Chinese university students' mental health and wellbeing ( 6 ). The fact that drawing attention is occurrence of mental disorders and Social Media Addiction (SMA) ( 4 – 8 ).

SMA is defined as paying excessive attention to social media activities often to the neglect of all other activities, and uncontrollable use to the extent that it interferes with other important areas of life including psychological health, interpersonal relationships, emotional consequences, academic performance, and occupation to the detriment of the individual ( 9 – 12 ). A number of studies related SMA are guided by motivation-related theories, such as the uses and gratifications theory and the self-determination theory ( 13 ). Social gratifications (e.g., maintaining relationships, interacting with others, and receiving social support) and sociopsychological needs (e.g., need to belong and need for relatedness) are major types of motivations predicting addictive social media use ( 14 , 15 ). Myriad studies have investigated the problematic social media use typically accompanied by a reduction in a size of the individuals' social circle, as well as an increase in loneliness, depression, and fear of missing out (FoMO) ( 10 , 16 – 18 ). FoMO demonstrates moderate-to-large relations with levels of excessive social media use ( 19 , 20 ). Given social media as an inseparable part of university students' daily life, concerns have been raised about its excessive usage globally ( 21 – 23 ). Students with SMA are overly concerned about social media driven by a strong motivation to log on to or use social media and devote much time and effort to social media ( 24 ). However, the relationship of FoMO and SMA is still further explored.

In addition, individual's may use social media exclusively for information acquisition ( 25 ) and self-presentation ( 26 ), both of which may contribute to SMA. The major motivation of social media use is self-presentation for managing a personal homepage ( 27 , 28 ). Self-presentation is defined as the goal-directed activity of controlling information to influence the impressions formed by an audience about the self ( 29 ). Social media activities that accomplish self-presentational goals include posting photographs, profile information, impression management, and self-expression, which are important aspects of relational development in maintaining relationship ( 27 – 30 ). Using social media for social interaction seems to have positive effects on an individual's online self-presentation ( 31 , 32 ). Whereas, the excessive and inappropriate use of social media for entertainment purpose might decrease willingness to express themselves ( 32 , 33 ). The inconsistency of relationship between social media use and self-presentation seems to due to the different purposes of social media usage. Although previous researches have focused on the important role of purposes of social media use on self-presentation, less attention is paid to the association between negative consequences of inappropriate social media use and self-presentation. The aim of the present study is to explore the relationships of FoMO, SMA and self-presentation on social media and determine the factors affecting SMA in university students.

Sample and Data Collection

Using convenience sampling 3,015 participants from four universities and four vocational and technical in Wuhan comprising junior college students, undergraduate students, and graduate students. The criteria for involvement in the research were being voluntary to participate in the study and cooperate with the study. Data were collected using structured-questionnaires in February, 2021. Participants filled out questionnaires online via Questionnaire Star. Data from 3,015 were used for analysis; 271 respondents were excluded due to missing data.

Instruments

Chinese social media addiction scale.

The scale was developed by ( 34 ), original used with college students in China. The tool contains 28 items evaluated on a five-point likert scale ranging from one strongly disagree to five strongly agree. Cronbach's α was 0.971 in this study. High score indicates a high level of SMA. The participants were divided into two groups using the mean SMA score for statistical analysis: a high score group (≥84, n = 1,376) and a low score group (<84, n = 1,368).

Fear of Missing Out Scale (FoMOs)

the Chinese version of FoMOs, which was adapted by Li et al. following standardized international guidelines, was implemented to measure FoMO among university students in China ( 35 , 36 ). Responses for each item are rated by using a five-point likert scale ranging from one (strongly disagree) to five (strongly agree). The Cronbach's α value of FoMOs in the present study was 0.924. High scores indicate high level of FoMO. The participants were divided into two groups using the mean FoMO score for statistical analysis: a high score group (≥36, n = 975) and a low score group (<36, n = 1,769).

Self-Presentation on Social Media

The tool contains two parts as followed: (1) Expression willingness contains five items (share or repost, comment, reply, like, original article). Responses for each item are rated by using a five-point likert scale ranging from one (strongly disagree) to five (strongly agree). The Cronbach's α values of expression willingness in the present study was 0.913. High scores indicate a high level of expression willingness on social media. The participants were divided into two groups using the mean expression willingness score for statistical analysis: a high score group (≥15, n = 1,000) and a low score group (<15, n = 1,744). (2) Basic information shown on social media contains 15 items (real-time position, social relations, consumption information, personal photos, and videos, location, newsletter, education, emotional state, marriage, height, and weight, birthday, hobby, gender, age, and name). Responses for each item are rated by using a five-point Likert scale ranging from one (strongly disagree) to five (strongly agree). The Cronbach's α value of self-information posted on social media in the present study was 0.927. High score indicates a high level of basic information shown on social media. The participants were divided into two groups using the mean basic information shown on social media score for statistical analysis: a high score group (≥45, n = 2,480) and a low score group (<45, n = 264).

Privacy Information Protection

The tool contains two questions as followed: (1) Item one is privacy setting in social platforms (WeChat, Weibo, QQ, QQ zone, Tik Tok, Little Red Book, Douban, Post bar, Zhi Hu, others). Responses for each item are rated by using “Yes or No”; (2) Item two is information viewed by others. Can your social friends get your following information online? (Consumption information, hobby, location, education, occupation, age, and gender). Responses for each item are rated by using a five-point likert scale ranging from one (strongly disagree) to five (strongly agree). The Cronbach's α value of information viewed by others in the present study was 0.915. High scores indicate high level of information online viewed by others. The participants were divided into two groups using the mean information viewed by others score for statistical analysis: a high score group (≥21, n = 1,454) and a low score group (<21, n = 1,290).

Social Media Use

Social media use is ascertained with the following items: (1) Social media platforms; (2) Purposes of using social media; (3) Category of information online you prefer; (4) Purposes of updating social feed; (5) Number of social media accounts; (6) People who interact most frequently on social media; (7) The motivations for interacting with others most frequently; (8) Accept a stranger's “friend request”; (9) Time spent on social media (h); (10) Browsing social media before going to bed; (11) Do you spend more time on social networking than real world?

Demographic Questionnaire

A demographic information sheet is used to acquire basic information, such as gender, age, residence, education, single-child, and parental marital status.

Ethical Consideration

The study was conducted according to the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsink, and approved by the Institutional Ethical Review Committee of Hubei University of Chinese Medicine (2018-ICE-023). Prior to the collection of data, the purposes and procedures of this study were explained to the respondents. Participants were informed that they would withdraw from the study at any time. Data were collected only from those who voluntarily agreed and provided written consent to participate in the study.

Data Analysis

All analyses were performed using SPSS 20.0, and the significance level of statistical tests were set up P < 0.05. Descriptive analysis of participants' demographic characteristics and social media use were described using number ( n ), percentage (%), and mean ± standard deviation ( SD ). The score of SMA was normal distribution. The Spearman correlation was used to determine the relationship of SMA, FoMO, and self-presentation on social media. Logistic regression was fitted to identify significant factors ( P < 0.05) associated with SMA, social media use, privacy information protection, FoMO, expression willingness, and basic information shown on social media. The detailed binary regression steps were as followed: (1) In model one, FoMO, and privacy information protection was entered to detect influencing factors on expression willingness or basic information shown on social media. (2) In model two, FoMO, privacy information protection, and social media use were entered to detect significant factors on expression willingness or basic information shown on social media. (3) In model three, FoMO, privacy information protection, social media use, and demographic information were entered. The strength of association was explained in terms of odds ratio ( OR ) and a 95% confidence interval (CI). Meanwhile, binary regression was fitted to access affecting factors on SMA, after considering the effects of FoMO, privacy information protection, expression willingness, or basic information shown on social media, social media use, and demographic information. The models' goodness of fit was check using omnibus tests of model coefficients for overall fitness of the model and Hosmer and Lemeshow test for fitness of the data to the model.

Sample Characteristics

Sample characteristics were shown in Table 1 . The mean age of participants was 20.08 ( SD = 2.37) with a range of 18-30 years old. Of the 2,744, 69.2% were female, 69.4% were single child and 56.3% lived in rural. Most participants were undergraduate students and above (58.2%). Ten point three percentage of students were from single parent or stepparent families.

General characteristics of the participants ( n = 2,744).

Social Media Use and Privacy Information Protection

As shown in Supplementary Table S1 , 41.6% respondents admitted that they spend more time on social networking than real world. Regarding the question “can your social friends get your following information online?”, nearly two or three students reported their social friends could know their following information from their social media platforms: gender, age, occupation, location, and education level ( Figure 1A ). Moreover, nearly two or three students reported that they had privacy settings on WeChat and Qzone ( Figure 1B ). Sixty point six percentage students accepted a stranger's “friend request”.

Privacy information protection. (A) Privacy setting; (B) Information viewed by others.

As depicted in Figure 2A , regarding the question “Expression willingness,” almost one or four students admitted that they “sometimes” gave a like, shared/reposted, or replied, and 24.3% participants reported they “sometimes” published original article. Furthermore, a total of 16.3% students reported that they “sometimes” showed real-time positioning on social media, while 37.9% of them indicated they “often” posted photos, or videos ( Figure 2B ). Accept a stranger's “friend request” ( OR = 1.251), FoMO ( OR = 4.261), privacy setting [QQ (OR = 0.775) and Weibo ( OR = 0.430)] and information viewed by others ( OR = 2.852) affected the level of expression willingness ( Table 2 ). Among male university, accept a stranger's “friend request” and education level did not influence expression willingness ( Supplementary Table S2 ). Furthermore, FoMO ( OR = 5.278), information viewed by others ( OR = 9.673), and privacy setting [QQ ( OR = 0.817), and Tik Tok ( OR = 0.546)] affected level of basic information posted on social media ( Table 3 ). Among male university, parents who interact most frequently on social media negatively affect basic information shown on social media ( Supplementary Table S3 ).

Individual self-presentation on social media. (A) Expression willingness; (B) Basic information posted on social media.

Factors associated with expression willingness among university students.

Model 2: adjusted social media use; Model 3: additionally, adjusted demographic information .

Factors associated with basic information shown on social media among university students.

Model 2: adjusted social media use ;

Model 3: additionally, adjusted demographic information .

The mean score of SMA was 77.76 ( SD = 19.65). The results revealed a positive significant correlation between SMA and FoMO ( r = 0.544, P = 0.00), between SMA and expression willingness ( r = 0.397, P = 0.000). As depicted in Table 4 , FoMO ( OR = 4.165), expression willingness ( OR = 1.645), information viewed by others ( OR = 1.406) positively affected the level of SMA scores. However, basic information posted on social media did not influence SMA scores. Furthermore, risk of SMA increased as time spent on social media daily and longer than real world increased. Among female university students, using social media for shopping negatively influenced SMA ( Supplementary Table S4 ).

Factors associated with SMA among university students.

The present study aimed to investigate the association of self-presentation on social media, FoMO, and SMA in two respects: (a) assess the effect of social media use, FoMO, privacy information protection, on self-presentation on social media; (b) exam the effect of FoMO, privacy information protection, and self-presentation on social media on SMA and pay attention to other influencing factors. The over pattern result confirms the effect of self-presentation and FoMO on SMA. Social media usage is partially motivated by a need for a positive self-presentation ( 37 ). Consistence with previous studies, using social media for social interaction might render individuals to increase willingness to express their personal and intimate information, such as updating self-descriptive profiles, sharing content within the circle of friends, and giving thumbs-ups ( 31 , 32 ). Furthermore, self-presentation on social media showed a positive association with SMA in this study. In addition, information posted on social media, which could be viewed by others, also acted as predictor of SMA. That is, people experience higher levels of positive social feedback, which in turn is reflected in an increase in SMA, a process that is interpretable in light of craving for positive social interactions ( 28 – 39 ). Accordingly, self-presentation on social media could significantly predict SMA in university students.

Expression willingness is an interpersonal skill that selects appropriate actions and verbal expressions to communicate one's feelings ( 40 ). In this study, sharing photos or videos with others, and managing a personal homepage predicted expression willingness on social media, which is consist with previous study ( 27 , 28 ). However, no purpose for updating social feed maybe reduce individual's expression willingness. QQ and Weibo were the most popular social media platforms among university students in this study. When QQ and Weibo were set privacy protection, the desire for expression and basic information posted on social media were reduced. Privacy control is found to have a negative impact on personal information posted on social media ( 41 ). There is evidence suggesting when communicating anonymously, self-presentation occurs online ( 42 ). That's why when university students accepted a stranger's “friend request” and communicated with netizens, they were glad to express on social media in this study. In this study, because of my friends using social media or following others exerted significant influence on personal information posted on social media. Evidence shows that interactivity, privacy control, and trust influence social media users' self-disclosure behavior ( 43 ). Trusting friends' choosing plays an important role on personal information shown on social media. Meanwhile, sharing information acting as self-disclosure goal positively influenced the level of basic information posted on social media, which is line with previous study ( 44 ).

In keeping with previous studies ( 33 , 45 ), our study supported the relationship between FoMO and SMA. Next, we found FoMO acted as predictor of SMA and self-presentation on social media. Evidence showed that adolescents with a high level of FoMO would choose to disclose themselves on cyberspace, especially social media to enhance social relationships with other contacts ( 46 ). Meanwhile, a high focus on self-presentation on social media is associated with more mental health problems, such as anxiety and depression ( 47 ). Therefore, subjects with high levels of FoMO tended to display themselves on social media in order to keep in touch with others in this study. SMA motivated by social interaction and communication check their social media accounts and communicate with social media friends in an automatic and impulsive fashion ( 48 , 49 ). Thus, FoMO, who are desire to stay continually connected with what others are doing, enhances individuals' state of self-presentation on social media and facilitates SMA.

In this view, the results of this study indicated that SMA is related to the number of social media accounts and time spent on social media, which are in line with previous literatures ( 50 , 51 ). Furthermore, time spent on social media and browsing social media before going to bed acted as predictors of SMA. With regard to social media use, it has been highlighted that individuals with excessive social media use are more prone to engage in SMA ( 52 ).

Gender differences, as well as some similarities, are apparent in factors influencing basic information shown on social media. Female and male differ to some extent in the types of content posted online ( 53 ). In this study, the service information that male university students preferred online positively affect basic information shown on social media. Female are more like to display friendship, whereas, male are more likely to orient toward technology, sports, and humor in the information they post to their profile ( 53 ). Meanwhile, female are greater concerns about privacy and identity disclosure on social media than male ( 54 ). That's why privacy setting acted as opposite role on basic information shown on social media.

Limitations

The study has limitations. First, the use of a non-random sample of social media users from China, limiting generalizability of results to other countries. Second, some of the studied variables (e.g., FoMOs and SMA) were reported using self-administered questionnaires. Therefore, our findings may suffer from the negative effects of recall bias and social desirability. Finally, a cross-sectional design was used, which cannot provide evidence of the causal relationships among studied variables.

Conclusions

To conclude, the study provides novel insights into the link of FoMO, self-presentation on social media, and SMA. Particularly, it highlights that addictive social media use is related to habits of social media usage (e.g., browsing social media before going to bed, number of social media accounts and self-presentation on social media), time spent on social media, FoMO and spending more time on social networking than real world. Further research is needed to employ longitudinal designs, which might further verify the underlying mechanisms linking self-presentation and SMA.

Data Availability Statement

Ethics statement.

The studies involving human participants were reviewed and approved by the Institutional Ethics Review Committee of Hubei University of Chinese Medicine. The patients/participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study.

Author Contributions

ZX and XZ: conceptualization, validation, investigation, and project administration. XZ: methodology, formal analysis, data curation, writing—original draft preparation, visualization, and funding acquisition. ZX: writing—review editing and supervision. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.

This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 82003448).

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher's Note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Supplementary Material

The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.896762/full#supplementary-material

Social Media

Social media use and youth mental health, parenting in the digital age..

Posted May 31, 2024 | Reviewed by Tyler Woods

Co-authored by Zoe Hart and Dr. Marina Heifetz

Social media has become increasingly more accessible, with the vast majority of North American teens using it daily. With social media companies marketing to teens, it is no wonder that we see a steady increase in youth social media usage alongside a decrease in the age at which most kids get their first device and have access to the internet.

It is important to acknowledge that social media can serve as a way to connect and engage with peers. At the same time, there are also some known risks associated with youths’ use of social media. Notably, brain development associated with our impulse control does not fully develop until about our mid-20s, and it is difficult for youth to self-limit screen time . As a result, they end up spending longer periods scrolling on social media ( American Psychological Association, 2023a ).

Caution around youth social media use

The U.S. Surgeon General (2023) released a health advisory last year that suggests children and teens who use social media for more than three hours a day are at significantly more risk of developing mental health challenges such as anxiety , depression , and suicidality . Below are some ways mental health is impacted:

• Neurological and Developmental Factors: Excitement for connection amongst peers is associated with brain development that typically occurs between the ages of 10 and 12. This is also the average age that many youth access their first devices. The lack of fully formed impulse control makes it harder for youth to effectively self-regulate , spend appropriate amounts of time on social media, and create a healthy balance between online interactions and interactions between friends, family, and peers in day-to-day life.
• Peer Influence and Social Feedback: Factors such as “like” counts, comments, and push notifications on social media platforms can heavily influence youth. Feedback received on social media (whether positive or negative) can have tangible impacts on youth mental health, and lead to increased symptoms of anxiety and depression.
• Self-Esteem and Body Image : Related to peer influence, interactions online can heavily contribute to one’s self-image . Having access to a variety of different profiles, people, and content online provides an opportunity for youth to constantly compare themselves to others, and this can have negative effects on self-esteem and body image. Anita Federici, a clinical psychologist and researcher, has spoken out about the strong correlation between increased social media use and the increase in body dissatisfaction and emotion dysregulation seen in young people. Numerous weight-related memes and comments on social media and increased pressure from the dieting industry are prevalent. Children and youth may not be able to manage and discriminate between what is toxic diet culture and what is appropriate and healthy in what they are seeing online.
• Inappropriate and Hateful Content: Extended social media use also poses the risk of exposure to content such as online discrimination , racism, homophobia, sexual content, and cyberbullying. Research demonstrates that exposure to this can increase symptoms of anxiety and depression in youth.

What families can do to support their youths’ safe social media use

The American Psychological Association (2023a) outlines a few different ways parents can mindfully connect with their youth about safe social media usage:

• Monitor and discuss social media use with your child; answer questions honestly
• Initiate age-appropriate and supportive conversations surrounding online content
• Model healthy social media use for your child; help them recognize what is and what is not real online by teaching social media literacy
• Watch out for problematic usage

Reducing social media use can also be helpful. Recent research by Smith and Mills (2024) suggests that even taking a week-long break can have a significant positive impact on youth mental health and self-esteem, especially for young women.

Lisa Damour, a clinical psychologist and author of numerous youth development books (her latest book is The Emotional Lives of Teenagers ), has spoken widely about the impact of social media on adolescents. While there are many positive components of social media, such as serving as a “lifeline for young people who struggle to make peer connections in their local community,” Lisa Damour has also emphasized the importance of educating youth about the algorithms that social media use to provide information of interest to them and delaying social media use until older adolescent years. We want to teach youth how to filter out what is appropriate and what is not appropriate content. This can be connected to family values to guide the youth in developing appropriate judgments.

An advisory by the American Psychological Association (2023b) reinforces that developmental growth among children, youth, and teens is gradual, constant, and not always linear. As such, it is important to keep online interactions developmentally appropriate. As parents, it is also vital to maintain open lines of communication and monitoring regarding social media use. The bottom line is that youth social media use, functionality, and permissions should be tailored to youths’ unique developmental capabilities to foster healthy and safe interactions, both in-person and online.

This post is also published on the Mindful Psychology & Wellness Centre blog.

Marina Heifetz, Ph.D. , is a clinical child and adolescent psychologist. She works with children, adolescents, and families in Toronto and is the director and owner of the Mindful Kids Psychology Centre.

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Which social media platforms are most common, who uses each social media platform, find out more, social media fact sheet.

Many Americans use social media to connect with one another, engage with news content, share information and entertain themselves. Explore the patterns and trends shaping the social media landscape.

To better understand Americans’ social media use, Pew Research Center surveyed 5,733 U.S. adults from May 19 to Sept. 5, 2023. Ipsos conducted this National Public Opinion Reference Survey (NPORS) for the Center using address-based sampling and a multimode protocol that included both web and mail. This way nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race and ethnicity, education and other categories.

Polls from 2000 to 2021 were conducted via phone. For more on this mode shift, read our Q&A.

Here are the questions used for this analysis , along with responses, and  its methodology ­­­.

A note on terminology: Our May-September 2023 survey was already in the field when Twitter changed its name to “X.” The terms  Twitter  and  X  are both used in this report to refer to the same platform.

YouTube and Facebook are the most-widely used online platforms. About half of U.S. adults say they use Instagram, and smaller shares use sites or apps such as TikTok, LinkedIn, Twitter (X) and BeReal.

Note: The vertical line indicates a change in mode. Polls from 2012-2021 were conducted via phone. In 2023, the poll was conducted via web and mail. For more details on this shift, please read our Q&A . Refer to the topline for more information on how question wording varied over the years. Pre-2018 data is not available for YouTube, Snapchat or WhatsApp; pre-2019 data is not available for Reddit; pre-2021 data is not available for TikTok; pre-2023 data is not available for BeReal. Respondents who did not give an answer are not shown.

Source: Surveys of U.S. adults conducted 2012-2023.

Usage of the major online platforms varies by factors such as age, gender and level of formal education.

% of U.S. adults who say they ever use __ by …

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This fact sheet was compiled by Research Assistant  Olivia Sidoti , with help from Research Analyst  Risa Gelles-Watnick , Research Analyst  Michelle Faverio , Digital Producer  Sara Atske , Associate Information Graphics Designer Kaitlyn Radde and Temporary Researcher  Eugenie Park .

Follow these links for more in-depth analysis of the impact of social media on American life.

• Americans’ Social Media Use  Jan. 31, 2024
• Americans’ Use of Mobile Technology and Home Broadband  Jan. 31 2024
• Q&A: How and why we’re changing the way we study tech adoption  Jan. 31, 2024

Find more reports and blog posts related to  internet and technology .

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Right now, you're using the internet to access Slidesgo and read the description of this new template. Do you do this every five seconds, eight hours a day? We're flattered, but you should slow down! Internet addiction disorder (or IAD) is an issue of today's world. However, it's not globally recognized as a disease (yet), but its symptoms vary from lack to sleep to eye strain. Now it sounds serious, right? Get this template and start creating an informative presentation about this topic so that we can help prevent it in this era, characterized by the constant use of computers!

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Internet addiction affects the behaviour and development of adolescents

5 June 2024

Adolescents with an internet addiction undergo changes in the brain that could lead to addictive behaviour and tendencies, finds a new study by UCL researchers.

The findings, published in PLOS Mental Health , reviewed 12 articles involving 237 young people aged 10-19 with a formal diagnosis of internet addiction between 2013 and 2023.

Internet addiction has been defined as a person’s inability to resist the urge to use the internet, negatively impacting their psychological wellbeing, as well as their social, academic and professional lives.

The studies used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to inspect the functional connectivity (how regions of the brain interact with each other) of participants with internet addiction, both while resting and completing a task.

The effects of internet addiction were seen throughout multiple neural networks in the brains of adolescents. There was a mixture of increased and decreased activity in the parts of the brain that are activated when resting (the default mode network).

Meanwhile, there was an overall decrease in the functional connectivity in the parts of the brain involved in active thinking (the executive control network).

These changes were found to lead to addictive behaviours and tendencies in adolescents, as well as behaviour changes associated with intellectual ability, physical coordination, mental health and development.

Lead author, MSc student, Max Chang (UCL Great Ormond Street Institute for Child Health) said: “Adolescence is a crucial developmental stage during which people go through significant changes in their biology, cognition, and personalities. As a result, the brain is particularly vulnerable to internet addiction related urges during this time, such as compulsive internet usage, cravings towards usage of the mouse or keyboard and consuming media.

“The findings from our study show that this can lead to potentially negative behavioural and developmental changes that could impact the lives of adolescents. For example, they may struggle to maintain relationships and social activities, lie about online activity and experience irregular eating and disrupted sleep.”

With smartphones and laptops being ever more accessible, internet addiction is a growing problem across the globe. Previous research has shown that people in the UK spend over 24 hours every week online and, of those surveyed, more than half self-reported being addicted to the internet.

Meanwhile, Ofcom found that of the 50 million internet users in the UK, over 60% said their internet usage had a negative effect on their lives – such as being late or neglecting chores.

Senior author, Irene Lee (UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health), said: “There is no doubt that the internet has certain advantages. However, when it begins to affect our day-to-day lives, it is a problem.

“We would advise that young people enforce sensible time limits for their daily internet usage and ensure that they are aware of the psychological and social implications of spending too much time online.”

Mr Chang added: “We hope our findings will demonstrate how internet addiction alters the connection between the brain networks in adolescence, allowing physicians to screen and treat the onset of internet addiction more effectively.

“Clinicians could potentially prescribe treatment to aim at certain brain regions or suggest psychotherapy or family therapy targeting key symptoms of internet addiction.

“Importantly, parental education on internet addiction is another possible avenue of prevention from a public health standpoint. Parents who are aware of the early signs and onset of internet addiction will more effectively handle screen time, impulsivity, and minimise the risk factors surrounding internet addiction.”

Study limitations

Research into the use of fMRI scans to investigate internet addiction is currently limited and the studies  had small adolescent samples. They were also primarily from Asian countries. Future research studies should compare results from Western samples to provide more insight on therapeutic intervention.

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Watch CBS News

Kids coming of age with social media offer sage advice for their younger peers

Updated on: June 6, 2024 / 1:21 PM EDT / AP

Kids constantly hear about the downsides of social media  from the adults in their lives , often in the form of dire warnings and commands. 

But the adults themselves did not grow up with social media. They didn't get a phone handed to them as toddlers, just to keep them quiet in a restaurant. They didn't join TikTok and do silly dances before they even learned to read. They didn't have their schools  shut down in a global pandemic , their connections to friends and peers relegated to phone and computer screens. 

Kids coming of age with social media are forging ahead in a whole new world. And now that they are getting older, they have some advice for their younger peers. Here's what young adults say they wish they knew when they first got online.

• You don't have to compare everything : "It's so easy to look at your friends' stories and feel this feeling of FOMO, of missing out and comparing yourself, like: 'Oh, my friend just got a new car,' said Bao Le, 18, a freshman at Vanderbilt University. "It's like this overwhelming sense of comparison," he added. "But the things that people post on social media, it's just the highlight reel, like the 1% of their life that they want to showcase to other people."
• Be yourself. Don't obsess over products, brands:  "My main point of advice would be not to take it too seriously," said Doreen Malata, 22, a senior at the University of Maryland. "Be yourself," she added. "Younger kids want to be who they idolize. And when the TikTok stars or the social media stars are 20, 18, 16, they're going to want to be like them. You're getting younger kids that are now obsessing over products and brands, and it's just getting really hard to be young. And it shouldn't be really hard to be young. You should be enjoying childhood. And we shouldn't be rushing to grow up. It's OK to be 12. It's OK to be young. It's OK to enjoy childhood."
• Set time limits: "It seems like it would be really easy to just put your phone down and stop scrolling. But it is not," said Sienna Keene, 17, a high school senior in Orinda, California. "If there was advice that I could give to my younger self, it would be to tell my parents to set up time limits for me — even though I would have never said that when I was starting social media. Also, I personally would not let my kid have TikTok. I would try to resist it as long as I could. It's so addictive."
• Take a "social media detox":  "When you first get these apps, it hits you — like, BOOM, there is so much content, Ava Havidic, 18, a high school senior in Broward County, Florida, said. "Styles, fashion models. It really impacts you heavily when you first get it, this feeling of: 'How do they do it? How do they look like this? How do they get clothes like that?' When you're new to social media, these trends can overtake you. I started to use Screen Time (monitoring) on my phone and limit the amount of time I am on social media. I've been taking phone detoxes. On weekends, I'll take a social media detox for 10 hours or the majority of the day. I'll hang out with my family, ride my bike. I only have notifications for my messages and workspaces. I don't have any notifications on for social media apps."
• Engage with the real world: "Often I hear the term 'social media user,' but I felt like I was being used by social media," said Lea Nepomuceno, 18, a freshman at George Washington University. "I had this routine of scrolling mindlessly through TikTok, just scrolling and scrolling and comparing myself to other people. It ultimately really affected my body image, my perception of what was considered beautiful or accepted into society. But the only thing I was getting out of social media was feeling fatigued, or I would feel sad," she said. "You can use social media to amplify your passions, but in order to do that you need to do a lot of work outside of social media, to discover who you are as a person, what matters to you and what contributions you can make to the world."
• Don't waste your time:  "I would say just don't use it," said Mikael Makonnen, 18, a freshman at American University. It's kind of a waste of time. You're just having conversations about pointless things, random pop culture stuff. It just sucks your time. You're not really getting anything out of it, just short-term satisfaction. It's kind of meaningless. I know this is kind of outlandish, but I feel like there should be some sort of age limit because I don't think children should be on the internet."
• Be aware it's not real:  "A lot of people make their life artificial so that they're perceived in a certain way," said Nour Mahmoud, 21, a junior at Virginia Commonwealth University. "And I think going into social media, I wish I knew it is a tool to learn from. There's so much information, and you're able to learn so much about different things. ... I wish people had that outlook rather than the whole idea of other people viewing you and having to be seen a certain way."
• It's OK to block someone. Protect yourself and your body image:  "You can't scroll on TikTok or look through Instagram without seeing supermodels who have edited their photos and are promoting unrealistic beauty standards. I don't want to see these girls who pretend to be fitness influencers but are just promoting an eating disorder like 'body checking' on my feed," said Madeleine Maestre,18, a freshman at Santa Clara University. "That is one thing I wish I knew when I started: that it is OK to not want to look at that or want to consume it. It's OK to protect yourself and your own body image. Another thing I wish I knew is that not everyone on social media is your friend. When you are young and impressionable and people are reaching out to you, just know that not everyone is as friendly as you think they are."

Interviews by Almaz Abedje, Jocelyn Gecker and Barbara Ortutay.

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Many blame social media for poor mental health among teenagers, but the science is murky

If Jordy had a switch to instantly shut down social media, she would flip it.

"I'd switch it off, 100 per cent, even if it was for a week, just so people could have that taste of what it would be like," she said.

Now in her first year out of school, the 18-year-old studies nursing at university and works at a local cafe in Charleville, a small town 745 kilometres west of Brisbane, where she has lived most of her life.

Like Australian teenagers everywhere, she has another life online.

"It's like a second world, really," she said.

"You have reality and then you have social media — two extremely different things."

At the moment, she spends an average of five-and-a-half hours a day on her phone, but it's lower than her peak during high school.

"When I first got a phone I was on it constantly, probably like seven hours, eight hours a day," she said.

She has cut back since then because that second world was not always kind, especially when it came to body image — and despite the fact her parents were always strict about phone usage.

"Growing up, I've always been a big girl … and a sporty person — I'm pretty healthy," she said.

"But when we see images, it tends to be just very thin, skinny people.

"It can just take you down, with the click of your fingers."

Jordy was also being bullied at school, but social media meant it could happen around the clock, no matter where she was.

"A group of boys at my school had tagged me on TikTok telling me to go kill myself," she said.

"It was just so heartbreaking. I was just like, 'I go to school with you every day, we've never had an issue in the past.' That's probably the worst thing that's happened."

Jordy's mental health was tanking, and she began to withdraw from activities she used to love, like footy training or seeing friends.

"I just felt so scared to talk to my mum … I was just like, 'I don't want my mum to think I'm using social media the wrong way'," she said.

No matter how bad things got, logging off still felt impossible.

"It was like that fear of missing out, I guess. I think that's the addiction thing, right?" she said.

"You sort of just have to be on your phone to socialise."

Does more screen time cause worse mental health in teenagers?

Teen mental health has deteriorated at an accelerating rate in the last two decades — more or less exactly since social media and smartphones started to become widespread in 2007.

For obvious reasons, many people, especially concerned parents, have leapt to the conclusion that tech is the culprit.

But the science is surprisingly murky, even though there is a link — research shows more screen time is associated with higher rates of depression in adolescents.

"What we know about the link is there's a link, and that's pretty much what we know," said Aliza Werner-Seidler, a senior researcher at the Black Dog Institute.

"We have really good correlational data, there is a strong linear relationship, particularly in young girls.

"What we don't know is about causation — so is young people's mental health leading them to spend more time on social media and screens, or is it actually the other way around?

"We don't know the direction of the effect."

Dr Werner-Seidler is one of thousands of researchers around the world trying to solve that mystery.

Even if many people are convinced they already know the answer because of their own experience online.

"Personally I would say that it's both," Jordy said.

After a session doomscrolling perfect bodies on TikTok, she "would feel horrible" about herself.

"But then I'd continue to use it and then it made me feel even worse."

After 17 years, why don't we have the answers yet?

Despite 17 years of widespread smartphones and social media, researchers still don't have enough data to definitively say whether they're to blame for deteriorating teen mental health.

Getting those long-term studies done is particularly difficult because trends, algorithms and habits change so quickly.

"When I started this work, TikTok wasn't even a thing … Snapchat, really has only taken off in the last decade or so," Dr Werner-Seidler said.

"It's a very fast-moving field. And so it's very, very difficult to get a handle on it before the next thing comes out."

Part of the problem is that studies have focused on overall screen time, instead of looking at what people were doing online.

"Are they FaceTiming with Grandma? Are they viewing distressing content? Are they being groomed online?" Dr Werner-Seidler said.

"This idea of nuance and it matters what people do and how they do it and how long for and with whom.

"We can't tell any of this information just by looking at how long young people spend on screens."

What social media companies know but don't say

The National Mental Health Commission has been investigating the relationship between digital tech and teen mental health.

On Friday it released its findings after months of consultation, noting the lack of longitudinal evidence and calling for further research to be made a "top priority".

Frustratingly for Dr Werner-Seidler, and other researchers in this area, the data that might solve the mystery does exist — but they can't access it.

"Big tech companies have all of this information," she said.

"If they were to share it with academics and scientists, we would be able to learn so much more, so much more quickly."

The data that has so far emerged in other ways, courtesy of lawsuits and whistleblowers such as Frances Haugen in 2021, has been disturbing.

Ms Haugen, a former Facebook employee, revealed detailed internal research showing Instagram was harmful for teenage girls.

One slide from an in-house presentation reportedly said: "We make body image issues worse for one in three teen girls."

The peak body for Australia's technology industry — whose members include social media companies Meta, Snapchat and TikTok — has defended the sector's contribution to public research.

"DIGI's relevant members have long-standing research and community partnerships in mental health and online safety, and specific policies … informed by that work," a spokesperson said.

Depending on the platform, those policies might include parental controls, avenues to report inappropriate content and seek help, customisable settings, and age limits.

Adherence to those age limits has been mostly voluntary, and the federal government is spending $6.5 million on an age verification trial in the hopes of introducing a higher standard of proof.

Some social media companies are trying to get ahead of any future legislation.

Facebook's parent company Meta announced this week it would no longer allow Facebook users to edit their birthdate to say they're over 18 without verification — a feature that's been in place on Instagram in Australia since last year.

A window for change

The public and political mood when it comes to big tech has rarely been darker.

"I've never seen the appetite [for change] as strong as it is right now," said Alice Dawkins, executive director of Reset Tech Australia.

She says there's a window for change with the federal government currently reviewing its key legislation, the Online Safety Act.

"Our online safety laws are geared at protecting people from [one] another online … [but] there's virtually nothing that can be done about protecting people from the tech itself."

As it stands, companies are rarely obliged to share information on how their products, and not just the people using them, may cause harm.

"It's highly exceptional — think about other sectors, like food, like medicine, like toys — it's incredibly routine in those sectors to have risk assessment and risk mitigation of products," Ms Dawkins said.

"There's compounding public awareness of the problem … it's never been a more appropriate time for the government to legislate."

Dr Werner-Seidler said that for now, internal data was being used by big tech to keep users scrolling for as long as possible.

"These are commercial big companies [and] they use a whole bunch of engagement strategies to keep people coming back, and that is their goal," she said.

The conversation you need to have with your kids

Jordy eventually found the courage to tell her mum what was happening to her online.

"When it got really bad I was just like, 'Mum, I need to show you … this is what's happening.'"

After that, her parents insisted she cut back her screen time but, despite everything that had already happened, she still fought it.

"I was so mean to her … I would get so angry, I'd be like, 'Mum, it's not your life,'" she said.

But that was before Jordy noticed a big improvement in her mood and her grades.

"I'm thankful every day that my mum did what she did.

"You can't ever change the fact that your kids are going to use social media," said Jordy, although boundaries were useful in her case.

"Saying to your kids, 'What are you using social media for? Why do you have to be on social media?'

"For parents out there that are struggling, I think it's that conversation you need to have with your kids.

"As a kid, you're going to get frustrated, but it's really just parents trying to protect their kids from what's out there."

Mental health disorders among young people have soared by nearly 50 per cent in 15 years. The ABC is talking to youth, parents, and researchers about what's driving this pattern, and what can be done to turn things around.

• X (formerly Twitter)

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Social Media Giants Avoid School Districts’ Addiction Claims (2)

By Rachel Graf, Isaiah Poritz and Maia Spoto

Meta Platforms Inc. and other social media companies won the dismissal of novel claims in hundreds of lawsuits brought by school districts seeking to recover costs for addressing the negative impacts of students’ social media use.

A California state judge sided Friday with Meta, Snap Inc. , TikTok Inc. and Google LLC in throwing out the districts’ allegations that social media has increased the cost of education because it makes students more distracted and disruptive, driving up the need for classroom discipline, employee training and communication with parents.

The cases are among hundreds in state and federal court alleging that social media platforms are designed to be addictive and are dangerous for youths.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carolyn Kuhl wrote that there must be limits on liability — otherwise any company could be held responsible when “emotional harm” it inflicts on individuals then causes those individuals to “act out.”

“A restaurateur who negligently sold a diner spoiled food would be liable to the person who was later struck by the diner’s car, given that the diner’s poor driving may have resulted from suffering under the effects of food poisoning,” Kuhl said in her ruling.

Schools Crack Down on Big Tech: Public Nuisance Theory Explained

The school districts alleged that the companies engineered their platforms to hook young users using algorithms and features such as the “like” button, in ways that hurt society — akin to cigarette manufacturers that designed their products to be addictive. They also alleged that they spent “significant resources” dealing with the fallout from social media, including from challenges circulated on the platforms that allegedly encouraged students to damage school property.

The social media companies countered that they couldn’t be held responsible for content posted by third parties.

“We believe the court made the right decision in this ruling,” Meta said in a statement. “Meta is committed to supporting young people and their families, and we will continue to defend against all cases claiming otherwise.”

Representatives of Google, TikTok, and Snap didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

As of May 9 the cases pending before Kuhl in a so-called Judicial Council Coordinated Proceeding included 617 school district plaintiffs from 34 states, according to a court filing. Kuhl heard arguments last month from four school districts acting as test plaintiffs to present the claims common to the broader litigation.

“The school district plaintiffs are disappointed with the court’s decision and are evaluating all appellate options,” according to a statement issued by lead lawyers for the districts. “Nevertheless, this decision impacts a limited number of school plaintiffs in the JCCP, and counsel will continue to vigorously litigate claims on behalf of school districts with active cases in the JCCP.”

The school districts already faced steep odds using the public nuisance legal theory that they successfully employed against vape pen sellers because the districts don’t themselves experience social media addiction, nor does the addiction physically injure them, Kuhl wrote.

Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, the federal liability shield protecting online publishers from content-based lawsuits, is too powerful to allow the novel twist on common law to proceed, she reasoned.

Expanding the public nuisance theory to let school districts sue despite being “indirectly affected by the negative consequences of social media for youth would create a broad web of indeterminate liability that the common law has heretofore refused to impose,” Kuhl wrote.

A federal judge in Oakland overseeing hundreds of other cases recently held a hearing on the same issues and is expected to rule soon.

How Lawsuits Seek to Make Social Media Safer for Kids: QuickTake

The Los Angeles and Oakland judges are also overseeing personal injury suits by youths and families alleging that the social media companies are responsible for causing widespread psychological distress and even suicides. The judges have allowed some claims to proceed against the companies while dismissing others. The companies have denied wrongdoing, saying they’ve taken steps to keep young users safe on the platforms.

The state case is Social Media Cases JCCP 22STCV21355, California Superior Court, County of Los Angeles.

(Updates with judge’s reasoning)

To contact the reporters on this story: Rachel Graf in San Francisco at [email protected] ; Isaiah Poritz in San Francisco at [email protected] ; Maia Spoto in Los Angeles at [email protected]

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Misyrlena Egkolfopoulou at [email protected]

Peter Blumberg, Patrick Gregory

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