A striking decline in teen mental health has coincided with the rise of smartphones and social media. Is social media causing the mental health challenges? Finally, research can answer that question.

This chart shows the biggest perceived threats to teenagers' mental health from the perspective of parents and teens.

They all assume some kind of relatively straightforward "billiard ball" model of cause and effect—that is, one thing (e.g., social media use) impacts upon another (e.g., mental health) and sets ...

Other key findings from the survey: More teens report spending too much time on social media: 45% of teens say they spend too much time on social media in our current survey, up from 36% in 2022.

But the emphasis on fears about social media may cause policymakers to miss the mental health benefits it provides teenagers, say researchers, pediatricians, and the National Academies of Sciences ...

Hence, the excessive usage of social media especially in young, developing individuals may cause mental health ...

More studies may be needed to pinpoint the specific underlying cause of the link between social media use and negative mental health outcomes, but if you're feeling the effects, it may be ...

What research actually says about social media and kids’ health. There is no clear scientific evidence that social media is causing mental health issues among young people. Here’s what we do know.

Social media’s danger on youth mental health has captured the attention of Texas lawmakers, at times, eclipsing focus on bigger threats — provider shortages and funding cuts to programs.

Efforts to limit social media have been mounting recently in response to growing concern about their use and its relationship to a mental health crisis among today’s youth. U.S. Surgeon General ...

Although social media's original intentions were to provide endless community, its popularity in use has began to have negative effects on users, causing mental health issues and distractions ...

But the emphasis on fears about social media may cause policymakers to miss the mental health benefits it provides teenagers, say researchers, pediatricians, and the National Academies of Sciences ...