Social Media is Bad

Some teens find support and community online, but those benefits do not outweigh the broader harms for most users.

Social media harms teen mental health by increasing anxiety, depressive symptoms, loneliness, poorer sleep, and lower self-esteem.

Social media harms teen mental health by increasing anxiety, depressive symptoms, loneliness, poorer sleep, and lower self-esteem.

Intervention studies show that when teens reduce their social media use, their mood and sleep improve.

Social media harms teen mental health by increasing anxiety, depressive symptoms, loneliness, poorer sleep, and lower self-esteem.

Social comparison, cyberbullying, and sleep disruption worsen teen mental health.

Social media harms teen mental health by increasing anxiety, depressive symptoms, loneliness, poorer sleep, and lower self-esteem.

Longitudinal studies that control for baseline mental health still find that increased use predicts later declines.

Longitudinal studies that control for baseline mental health still find that increased use predicts later declines.

Social media’s most common features encourage heavy use through prolonged time spent, frequent checking, and late-night engagement.