“While helped to prevent full isolation for many young people, increased social media may also have negatively impacted their mental and physical health,” Halpern says.Įven before the pandemic, evidence suggested that social media may have negative effects on mental health.įor instance, a 2015 study found that U.K. Ironically, social media use may be helping and hurting at the same time.
connecting to others with similar interests.Halpern notes that social media can have multiple benefits for young people “all of which can be empowering, entertaining, and social.” “It can reduce feelings of social isolation and allow tweens and teens to feel connected to their peers.” “There are absolutely benefits to social media use,” says Halpern. In this sense, it acted as a mental and emotional lifeline. Isolation can take a toll on mental, emotional, and physical health.Īccording to a 2017 review, researchers found a significant association between social isolation and loneliness, noting a negative correlation with cardiovascular and mental health outcomes.ĭuring the pandemic, social media became the only way to stay in touch with friends and maintain a social circle for many young people. In this sense, social media benefitted young people by connecting them to their real-life social groups in a time of isolation. “In many cases, it became the primary source of social connection for tweens and teens who were otherwise unable to socialize with their friends.” “Social media use increased during the pandemic for many young people,” explains Jaclyn Halpern, PsyD, director of the SOAR program at Washington Behavioral Medicine Associates. Here’s what the experts have to say about how social media is affecting young people’s mental health and well-being.
adolescents increased by 31 percent from 2019 to 2020, and emergency department visits for suspected suicide attempts in 2021 were 51 percent higher among girls ages 12–17 than during the same period in 2019.īut what does it all have to do with social media? Many health experts are calling it a second pandemic.įor instance, according to Mental Health America (MHA), the number of youth who experienced a major depressive episode in 2021 increased by 206,000 from the previous year.Īccording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), suicide attempts among U.S. This rise of social media use in young people coincides with a rise in mental health concerns. parents reported that their teens used more social media than they did before the pandemic. teens ages 13–17 use or have used social media.Īccording to 2020 data from Statista, 63 percent of U.S. “It’s almost like the world doing some kind of experiment on them: ‘Oh, let’s see what happens if you expose a 12-year-old to that much technology.'”Īccording to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 90 percent of U.S. “I feel really bad for the ones that are teenagers now,” she said. Penélope Cruz recently announced on CBS that her children aren’t allowed to use social media until they’re 16. Share on Pinterest Cavan Images/Offset Images