Multiple studies have examined whether social media harms adolescent mental health, producing nuanced findings. Twenge (2017) found that teens spending 5+ hours daily on social media were 71% more likely to have suicide risk factors. However, Orben & Przybylski (2019) analyzed 355,000 adolescents and found that social media's effect on wellbeing was tiny—equivalent to whether a student ate potatoes.
How can we reconcile these findings? A synthesis suggests that context matters enormously. Passive scrolling—viewing others' curated highlight reels—is linked to depression and envy. But active use—commenting, messaging friends, sharing content—can strengthen relationships and boost wellbeing.
Additionally, displacing sleep, exercise, and face-to-face interaction seems more harmful than screen time itself. The evidence suggests that banning social media is less useful than teaching mindful, active usage patterns.
