Understanding the Impact of Social Media on Student Mental Health

Are we overprotecting kids in the real world while underprotecting them online? Jonathan Haidt dives into this big question in “The Anxious Generation,” a must-read for anyone raising kids worried about their children’s smartphone habits and social media use. Haidt argues that being too cautious in the real world while leaving kids unprotected online has left them struggling with anxiety, depression, and loneliness. He calls the years between 2010 and 2015 the "Great Rewiring of Childhood", when children became the first generation to go through adolescence with smartphones leading to 5 foundational harms: 1. Opportunity cost: 7-9 hours/day on devices 2. Sleep deprivation: rates have surged since 2013 3. Social deprivation: time with friends down 65% since 2010 4. Attention fragmentation: the constant pull of notifications 5. Addiction to dopamine hits: likes, retweets, and comments become the currency of self-worth The book is a wake-up call for anyone raising kids or concerned about the role of technology and social media in their lives. It’s packed with research and practical strategies to help families and communities reverse these trends. Haidt’s solutions to escape collective action traps: -No smartphones before high school -No social media before age 16 -Phone-free schools (e.g. phone lockers) -Encourage independence, free play, and real-world responsibility In the past, bold moves were made to protect kids, like introducing car seat laws and banning smoking in schools in the late 1970s. Will we one day see similar action to address the impact of social media?

Brand new (open access) research just published! We identify a strong link between 18 forms of online aggression and PTSD among US teens, and that minor forms of online harm (e.g., exclusion) were as traumatic as major online attacks (e.g., threats). Implications for online platforms and schools are detailed. Platforms must resist deprioritizing moderation for content they algorithmically deem “low-severity,” and recognize that psychological impact among youth sometimes is difficult to fit in historically embedded hierarchies of harm. Also, schools must fundamentally shift how they conceptualize online harms by centering trauma-informed practices in what they do. I break it all down here: https://lnkd.in/eS3s8YwC

It's interesting how studies on the negative effects of social media on mental health are mixed: some find an effect, some don't (or only find a very small effect). Some take this as proof that social media is actually fine for mental health. My hypothesis is different. I think that the effects of social media are extremely heterogeneous based on app, population, and dosage: that in some subgroups, some social media apps (when used in high doses) have substantially negative effects on mental health, but in other subgroups, using other social media apps in moderate doses has no negative effect on mental health. For instance, 13-year-old girls in the US using TikTok or Instagram for 4 hours a day may be very differently impacted than 25-year-old men in Denmark using Twitter/X or WhatsApp for 30 minutes per day. The current studies may be like trying to answer the generic question: "Do non-prescription drugs have a negative mental health effect?" This question can't be answered because it combines too many dissimilar things. In particular, the answer hinges on which drugs we're talking about (cannabis vs. fentanyl), the age of the person doing the drug (teenagers vs. adults), and the quantity of drug use (occasional vs. extreme usage). If my hypothesis is true, then getting to the bottom of the true impacts of social media on mental health will require carefully designed studies that subdivide by app and by population (ideally after preliminary research is done to figure out what apps and which populations are reasonable to group together - for instance, it may be essential to segment by gender and rough age group, but it's important to get these segmentations right if the research is going to make progress). Another thing that makes this research so tricky is that social media literally adapts itself to what you pay attention to. So if you tend to click on upsetting things, it will show you more upsetting things, which can create a self-reinforcing cycle, whereas if you click on things that are interesting and pleasant, you'll get more of those instead. Overall, my best guess is that most people’s social media use would be found to have little or no negative causal link to mental health. But I would predict that there is a moderately sized causal negative link to mental health for: • teenage girls scrolling Instagram a large amount (e.g., checking it >25 times daily) • teenage boys playing video games non-socially, very large amounts (e.g., > 5 hours per day) • people who are already predisposed to worry a lot about the state of the world, scrolling Twitter a large amount (e.g., > 3 hours daily) • I also would predict a negative impact on attention or focus for those who use TikTok a lot (>5 hours daily) • But I would predict little to no average negative mental health effects for apps that a person uses only 20 minutes per day or less, since I think that's unlikely to be a high enough dose to cause problems for many people

"While the intention is rarely to cause harm, influential people can get psychological concepts wrong, and there are no checks and balances... it could just go viral, and that’s that.” - Me I came across some research a while back that analyzed TikTok videos under the hashtag #MentalHealth. It revealed that more than 80% of the information in those videos was misleading. Let that sink in—80%. At a time when social media is a primary source of information for many, this statistic is alarming, and it has stuck with me. What strikes me most is how this issue juxtaposes with the hesitation and warnings in the mental health field about engaging with social media. There’s often a vibe—an unspoken hesitation—that being present as a psychologist on social media, or even creating content, is somehow "not what we do." And yet, this reluctance creates a vacuum where misinformation thrives. I really believe more folks in our profession need to get comfortable stepping into this space. It’s one of the reasons I make it a point to stay informed on current trends, pay attention to the creators most popular with my clients, and not shy away from deep dives into trending content topics. If I don’t understand what my population is consuming—or worse, dismiss it outright—I'd be missing a huge opportunity to meet people where they are. When I wake up one day and all of a sudden half of my clients start telling me they are being #verymindful #verydemure #verycutesey I need to know why 😂 I contributed my thoughts on the topic to a recent article published by the American Psychological Association. I discussed two critical points with Zara Abrams: ➡ For whatever population we serve, psychologists should get familiar with the content the community consumes, on the platforms they consume it. This is no longer optional; it’s essential. What our clients see and believe is their reality, it impacts their mental health—and by extension, our work. ➡ My wish is for psychologists to engage more seriously with content creation, either by creating it ourselves or collaborating with and advising those who do. Social media isn’t going away, and neither is the demand for mental health information. If we want to combat misinformation, we need to be part of the narrative. Our voices, rooted in research informed practice, are needed now more than ever. Check out the full article for more thoughts on addressing mental health misinformation. https://lnkd.in/ghD7tdnV

Helpful new study out. "Clinical and Policy Implications The study’s findings have important clinical and policy implications for screen use in adolescents. While most interventions focus on limiting or monitoring screen time, the current study suggests that preventive strategies may also target trajectories or patterns of addictive screen use.14 The American Academy of Pediatrics advocates for a family media plan, which can be an individualized set of guidelines for each household. Prior research has shown that parental allowance of mealtime and bedroom screen use was associated with higher addictive screen use in adolescents.15 Therefore, parents could consider limiting screen use during meals and bedtime, and clinicians could educate parents on the risks associated with addictive and problematic screen use. It is also noteworthy that the minimum age requirement for most social media platforms is 13 years; therefore, much of the study’s social media data represent underage use. These findings align with previous research reporting that 63.8% of participants younger than 13 years used social media,2 and the current study further demonstrates features of addictive social media use among underage users. Recent federal and state legislation has proposed more robust age verification measures to address underage use. The study by Xiao et al5 highlights the growing concern around addictive screen use among adolescents and its significant impact on mental health. Their findings suggest that addictive screen use is more strongly linked to negative mental health outcomes than screen time alone. These results emphasize the importance of addressing not just screen time but also addictive behaviors in adolescents. Moving forward, targeted policies and interventions, including stronger parental involvement and better age verification measures on social media, are crucial for mitigating the risks associated with screen addiction." https://lnkd.in/g6_yHUqH

A University of Chicago report found that 57% of college students would “prefer to live in a world without Instagram.” Gen Z, depression, anxiety and screen time...does it have to be this way? While many say there’s no way to “go backwards” on screen time or the use of devices in a culture that's increasingly operated by them (e.g., the toothpaste can’t go back into the tube) I do wonder if there is a way to use less toothpaste.. 😰 WHAT WE KNOW: Gen Z is lonelier than the members of previous generations. They are more anxious and depressed; they get less sleep. Suicide deaths among children 10-14 more than doubled between 2007 and 2017.   "The oldest Gen Z were in middle school in 2009 when Facebook added the Like button and front-facing cameras became ubiquitous. The effect of these tools was to attach kids to “a firehose of social comparison” that pummelled their self-esteem at a critical moment of development. Boys over all, hypnotized by porn and video games, don’t fare hugely better than girls - who have it worst." 🤕 THE WELLNESS PUZZLE:  We (Gen Z) crave wellness, we prioritize mental health, we even show off our self care rituals - but we also see no world where digital connections don’t dominate. Social media simultaneously fills and widens our own emptiness. We’re aware that smartphones disrupt sleep, mood, and self-image, but believe giving up phones is social suicide. And that seems worse. 💡 OUR WAY FORWARD??  Research shows that when adolescents abstain from social media, their mental health improves even as their isolation from their friends who are still on the platforms increases. Are the network effects (and many benefits of screen time - from a creative outlet to social lifeline) too strong -- or are the following still possible: -'Airplane mode' middle schools -Double-age verification social media (minimum age 16, not 13) -??? Dive deeper —> https://lnkd.in/gzNnhfUU #GenZMarketing #GenZ #GenA #screentime #GenZbrands

ICYMI, the American Psychological Association just released a powerful new report detailing the potential risks of social media on kids and young adults - many of whom spend roughly seven hours a day on social media. Before social media – in the age of print magazines! – in 30 minutes you could flip through dozens of images of models and actresses with unrealistic body standards. Now, with social media feeds, in just SECONDS you can view a hundred depictions of unattainable bodies and lifestyles—and for impressionable youth, think that it’s realistic to achieve them. With filters, AI images, and “What I eat in a day” videos, impossible body standards rise exponentially. Diet culture takes over. During the COVID-19 pandemic, most kids weren't physically at school, and many spent hours on social media consuming unrealistic images that weren't counterbalanced by seeing people in real life. The prolonged exposure to content—hours vs. minutes—amplified its impact as a plausible risk factor for developing an eating disorder. That said, body image pressures can come from everywhere – not just social media. But it can also serve as an enabler or exacerbate existing problems. Stuck on how to address this? Here are my suggestions: 1️⃣ Adjust phone time usage so that it’s supportive. Time spent on a screen is time not spent socializing in the real world, seeing real bodies, and deepening relationships or offline hobbies. 2️⃣ Curate your feed and follow inclusive influencers/accounts.  If it doesn't make you feel good, unfollow. 3️⃣ While curating content is a good start, limiting time spent on social media platforms would likely have the greatest impact. Anything else I’m missing? You can check out the full APA report here: https://lnkd.in/e3S_HSMm Equip