Nearly half of teens say social media is bad for youth mental health, report finds

The impact of social media on young people’s mental health and well-being is a growing topic of concern among parents, educators, health care professionals and regulators. And now, nearly half of US teens say social media has a mostly negative effect on people their age — and almost the same proportion say they’re cutting back on social media use.

The impact of social media on young people’s mental health and well-being is a growing topic of concern among parents, educators, health care professionals and regulators. And now, nearly half of US teens say social media has a mostly negative effect on people their age — and almost the same proportion say they’re cutting back on social media use. That’s according to a Pew Research Center report published Tuesday that asked American teens and parents about their attitudes around social media and smartphones. It offers an updated glimpse into how teens view their own social media use, following a separate Pew study from December that found nearly half of US teens say they’re online almost constantly. The report comes as parents and regulators have called on social media companies to do more to keep young people safe — and prevent them from spending too much time — on their platforms. Last year, then-Surgeon General Vivek Murthy asked Congress to require a label on social media apps warning of risks to young people, similar to those on alcohol and tobacco. Australia also passed a world-first law banning teens under 16 from social media. And in March, Utah Governor Spencer Cox signed a landmark bill requiring app stores to verify users’ ages and share that data with app developers, in a bid to protect teens from accessing age-inappropriate content online. To conduct the study, Pew surveyed 1,391 US teens ages 13 to 17 and their parents during September and October of last year. Of the teen respondents, 48% said they think social media has a “mostly negative” effect on people their age, up from 32% when Pew asked the same questions in a different survey in 2022. Just 11% of teens today say they think social media is “mostly positive” for their peers.