When Scrolling Becomes a Problem |
Research documents the health consequences of problematic social media use, especially for teens.
As teens are growing and developing, they are especially vulnerable to addictive behaviors.
The evidence shows that strong guidance from parents, therapy, and education can help.
In a landmark decision earlier this year, a California jury found Meta and Google liable for designing social media platforms (namely Instagram and YouTube) that harmed the mental health of a young woman. The jury concluded the companies acted with malice by engineering features to promote compulsive behavior, which led to symptoms of anxiety, body dysmorphia, and depression for the plaintiff. They awarded her $6 million in damages.
The verdict sets a new legal precedent, but for researchers who study adolescent social media use, the findings were familiar. A growing body of evidence documents the health risks of social media addiction among youth.
The word "addiction" is often used loosely, and, in fact, social media addiction is not recognized as an official disorder in the DSM. But researchers have applied clinical frameworks to measure social media addiction, and a series of studies have found evidence of this growing problem in teens across the globe. In a nationally representative survey of adolescent girls in........