U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: Social Media and Youth Mental Health

Mar. 15, 2025

Social media presents a meaningful risk of harm to youth, while also providing benefits

The types of use and content children and adolescents are exposed to pose mental health concerns. Children and adolescents who spend more than 3 hours a day on social media face double the risk of mental health problems including experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety.3 This is concerning as a recent survey showed that teenagers spend an average of 3.5 hours a day on social media.4 And when asked about the impact of social media on their body image, 46% of adolescents aged 13-17 said social media makes them feel worse.5

3. Riehm et al., 2019.links to an external website

4. Miech et al., 2022.links to an external website

5. Bickham et al., 2022.links to an external website [PDF]

We cannot conclude that social media is sufficiently safe for children and adolescents

We have gaps in our full understanding of the mental health impacts posed by social media but at this point cannot conclude it is sufficiently safe for children and adolescents. We must better understand the answers to key questions, such as, which types of content are most harmful and what factors can protect young people from the negative effects of social media.

We can take immediate actions to make social media safer for youth

The Surgeon General’s Advisory on Social Media and Youth Mental Health [PDF, 1.03 MB]calls for engaging in a multifaceted effort to maximize the benefits and reduce the risk of harm posed by social media with actions suggested for groups including: children and adolescents, policymakers, technology companies, researchers, and families.

GO FURTHER

https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/reports-and-publications/youth-mental-health/social-media/index.html