Social media has worsened the mental health indicators of teenagers

An additional hour of daily social media browsing is associated with an increased chance of detecting moderate or severe symptoms of depression in adolescents by 15%, and anxiety by 12-13%. The relationship between Internet time and mental health was observed in all the studied groups, however, when comparing adolescents at the same time, it was most pronounced in girls. How the work was carried out, why its results do not prove that social networks cause depression, and whether limiting screen time will help — in the "Izvestia" material.

How scientists have studied adolescent behavior

The study was conducted by an international team of specialists led by staff from the University of Alberta. His results are published in the scientific Journal of Adolescence. The authors used information from the Canadian COMPASS research project, which collects data on the health and behavior of schoolchildren. The sample included teenagers aged 12 to 18 from schools in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Prince Edward Island and Quebec.

The scientists conducted two cross-sectional analyses. The first included 58,289 teenagers who participated in the survey in the 2021-2022 academic year, the second — 44,777 participants in 2022-2023. In addition, the researchers compared the responses of 26,743 teenagers who filled out questionnaires during both periods. This made it possible to trace changes in the use of social networks and the mental state of the same people over the course of the year.

Teenagers reported how much time per day they usually spend watching and scrolling through social networks, such as Instagram (owned by Meta, the company is recognized as extremist and banned in Russia) and TikTok. The researchers also assessed the severity of anxiety and depression symptoms, the ability to manage emotions, the quality of personal relationships, and overall psychological well-being.

The standardized CESD-R-10 and GAD-7 questionnaires were used to assess symptoms. However, the screening results cannot be equated with a clinical diagnosis. A high score indicates the severity of the symptoms and the need for a more careful assessment of the condition, but does not in itself confirm a depressive or anxiety disorder.

What did the extra hour on social media show?

On average, participants reported spending more than two hours a day browsing social media. More than 40% of teenagers scored a score corresponding to moderate or severe symptoms of depression, about 30% scored a similar level of anxiety.

When participants were compared at the same time, each additional hour of daily social media browsing was associated with a 15% increased chance of detecting moderate or severe symptoms of depression. For anxiety, the figure was 12% in the first wave of the study and 13% in the second.

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Additional time on social media was also associated with lower ratings of overall well-being, the quality of personal relationships, and the ability to manage emotions. The results were preserved after taking into account age, gender identity, ethnicity, and a subjective assessment of the teenager's financial situation.

However, the 15% figure describes a change in relative chances, and does not mean that 15 out of every 100 teenagers an extra hour will necessarily cause depression. The work reveals a statistical relationship at the level of a large sample, but does not allow us to predict the consequences for a particular person.

Why girls are more vulnerable

In the cross-sectional part of the study, the most pronounced adverse associations between time on social media and mental health were observed in girls. Each additional hour was associated with an increased chance of severe symptoms of depression by about 18%. For boys, the rate was about 12-13%. The association with anxiety, impaired emotional regulation, personal relationships, and general well-being was also stronger in girls.

The authors suggested that the difference may be explained by the peculiarities of using social networks. Previous work has shown that girls are more likely to use platforms intensively or face problematic use. In addition, visual content and constant comparison of oneself with others can have a stronger effect on the perception of one's own appearance.

At the same time, the new study did not directly assess the teenagers' attitude to the body, the content of the viewed publications and the features of algorithmic recommendations. Therefore, the influence of appearance images remains a likely explanation, rather than a proven mechanism of the discovered connection.

What has changed in one year

The longitudinal part of the study allowed us to assess how an increase in time on social networks was associated with the subsequent condition of the same adolescents. If the duration of daily tape viewing increased by one hour over the course of a year, the chances of moderate or severe symptoms of depression during repeated survey were about 7% higher, and anxiety was 4% higher. The researchers took into account the participants' initial mental state, as well as age, gender identity, ethnicity, and financial status.

The increase in time was also associated with a decrease in indicators of psychological well-being, the quality of relationships, and the ability to control emotions. These results differ from the figures of 15% and 12-13%, which relate to the comparison of different adolescents at one point in time. The dynamics of the connection turned out to be noticeably weaker. Nevertheless, they persisted after taking into account the initial symptoms, which the authors consider to be an important result.

At the same time, the researchers no longer found a statistically significant difference between girls, boys, and adolescents with other gender identities in monitoring the changes over the course of a year. Increased time on social media was associated with less favorable mental health outcomes in all groups.

Thus, the wording "social networks are especially dangerous for girls" needs to be clarified. A stronger relationship in girls was found in a cross-sectional comparison, but it was not confirmed in the analysis of annual changes.

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Does the study prove that social media causes depression

Despite the large sample and the repeated survey, the work remains observational. Its authors explicitly point out that the results obtained do not allow us to draw causal conclusions.

Mental deterioration may be the result of certain online practices, such as bullying, constant social comparison, exposure to unattainable standards of appearance, or sleep disorders. But the reverse process is also possible: teenagers who already feel anxious, depressed, or lonely may go to social media more often.

The influence of third factors is also possible. Mental health and digital habits can simultaneously be affected by family relationships, conflicts with peers, school workload, physical activity, sleep duration, and existing psychological difficulties.

An additional limitation is that the teenagers assessed both their time on social media and their symptoms on their own. The actual duration of application usage has not been verified based on smartphone data. Participants could inaccurately recall how much time they spent in front of the screen, or understand the question of daily use differently.

Schools also represented a convenient rather than random national sample. Therefore, the results cannot be considered an accurate assessment for all Canadian adolescents or automatically transferred to other countries.

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Social media can also be beneficial.

For teenagers, social media is not only a source of risk. They allow you to maintain friendly relationships, seek out like-minded people, receive information, and express your own identity.

This can be especially important for teenagers who find it difficult to find support in their immediate environment. The authors of the study note that for representatives of the LGBT community (the LGBT movement is recognized as extremist and banned in the Russian Federation), the Internet can create a space for communication and reduce feelings of isolation.

In a cross-sectional analysis of transgender and gender-nonconforming adolescents, the association of time on social media with depressive and anxiety symptoms turned out to be weaker than in girls. The researchers suggested that one explanation could be the social and emotional support they receive online.

However, the digital environment can simultaneously become a source of harassment, exclusion, and discrimination. Therefore, the impact of social media depends not only on the duration of use, but also on the quality of interaction, the security of the community, and the nature of the content.