Social media has complex effects on adolescent wellbeing, and policymakers must take note
In late 2024, more than 20 years after the birth of Facebook, the impact of social media on our lives cannot be overstated. Initially underestimated by many in business, social media eventually came to be recognised for its power to enable workers to share solutions, ideas and perspectives. While companies took time to see its potential, younger generations have been living part of their lives through social platforms for years. A 2023 Pew Research Center survey reveals that a majority of US youth aged 13 to 17 visit YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat at least “about once a day”, with roughly 15% saying they visit these platforms “almost constantly”.
This widespread use of social media has brought with it an increased focus on its effects on young people, particularly adolescents. Over the past year, we collaborated with our former doctoral student Elena Fumagalli to review research in this area and its potential impact on policymaking. Our findings were surprising and, at times, conflicting. While many studies share evidence of the negative impacts of social media use on adolescent wellbeing, the research we reviewed also showed conflicting findings and a dearth of high-quality research designs. And yet, policy decisions and media coverage are often based on them.
In response to this, we recently published a paper focusing on the most rigorous studies on this topic. Our goal was to identify research that we believe offers valid and dependable conclusions. Through this review, we discovered that social media’s effects on adolescent wellbeing are complex, varying by age, gender and the type of platform use.
The “moving target” of social media research
A critical challenge in this area is what we call the “moving target” problem. Social media platforms are constantly evolving, making it difficult to generalise research findings from one period to another. For example, Facebook today is not what it was 10 or 15 years ago – its functionality, user base and even its name have changed. Similarly, platforms like Instagram have gained popularity, while others such as Friendster, Vine and Google’s Orkut have disappeared.
Given this ever-changing landscape, it’s nearly impossible to draw definitive conclusions from older studies. That’s why we focused our review on research conducted in the past five years, a period marked by significant advances in data collection and analysis. We limited our scope to adolescents and young adults aged 13 to 21 to better understand how social media affects wellbeing during these critical developmental years.
Developmental sensitivity to social media
One of the most significant findings from our paper is that the negative effects of social media vary by age and gender, something which is rarely taken into consideration by authorities and the media. For girls, the most vulnerable period appears to be between 11 and 13 years old, while for boys it is between 14 and 15. These age ranges coincide with the onset of puberty, which we believe plays a significant role in how adolescents experience social media.
The beginning of puberty is already a challenging time for most young people, and social media seems to amplify these challenges. For example, body image issues, which often emerge during adolescence, are exacerbated by the highly curated and idealised content found on platforms like Instagram. While social media didn’t create these issues, it amplifies them like never before, making it harder for adolescents to ignore them.
Interestingly, we also found negative psychological effects for both boys and girls at age 19. This age corresponds to major life transitions such as leaving home, entering college or starting a job, all of which can induce anxiety. Social media appears to intensify these anxieties, possibly by fostering unrealistic expectations about life or creating a sense of inadequacy.
Active versus passive use
Another challenge we encountered in our research is the lack of clear definitions for what constitutes “social media use.” Furthermore, platforms vary significantly in their design, function, and audience, and these differences matter when it comes to their effects on wellbeing. For instance, image-based platforms like Instagram tend to have a more significant negative impact on body image than text-based platforms such as X (formerly Twitter).
Moreover, the way adolescents and young adults use social media also matters. We found that active use, where individuals post and engage with others, is linked to more positive self-esteem. In contrast, passive use, where users merely scroll through content without interacting, is associated with negative effects on wellbeing. These differences are crucial to understanding social media’s impact and need to be better accounted for in future research.
A further factor is the intentional addictiveness of these platforms. Whistleblowers have revealed that many social media companies design their products to be habit-forming, encouraging users to spend more time on their platforms. This makes social media more invasive than previous technologies like television or radio, and its influence is likely to extend into the workplace as today’s adolescents enter the job market.
Beyond adolescence
Our study highlights the need for more long-term, rigorous research to better understand social media’s impact on wellbeing. Recent studies suggest that various moderators – such as the type of platform and patterns of use – can either worsen or mitigate the negative effects of social media. These must be taken into account in evaluating measures to take against these negative consequences.
We also believe it’s important to look beyond adolescence. As the next generation enters the workforce, their social media habits are likely to follow them, potentially affecting their productivity and mental health. This is why we advocate for more longitudinal studies that track social media use over time and examine its long-term effects on wellbeing.
As we have found, despite the complexities and inconsistencies in social media research, politicians and the media often draw simplistic conclusions. For example, the Kids Off Social Media Act, a US bipartisan effort to ban social media for children under 13, reflects a tendency to make blanket statements about the dangers of social media. While it’s true that younger adolescents are more vulnerable to its negative impacts, age is not the only factor that matters. The type of platform, how it’s used, and individual psychological differences also play significant roles. Therefore, we must be careful not to jump to conclusions or implement one-size-fits-all solutions. Instead, we need nuanced, data-driven policies that account for the many variables at play.
Finally, as social media continues to evolve, so too must our understanding of its effects. More detailed, high-quality research can help guide interventions and programmes that protect the wellbeing of adolescents and young adults. With the right approach, we can better understand and mitigate the risks associated with this powerful technology. Läs mer…