A Pew Research Center survey of almost 750 13- to 17-year-olds found that 45 percent were online almost constantly, and 97 percent were using a social media platform. Pew says social media use can hurt teens, distract them, disrupt their sleep, expose them to bullying, and spread rumors, unrealistic views of other people's lives, and peer pressure. These risks can relate to how much social media teens are using.
This year, 95 percent of American teenagers ages 13 to 17 use YouTube, 67 percent use TikTok, 62 percent use Instagram, 59 percent use Snapchat, 32 percent use Facebook, 23 percent use Twitter, 20 percent use Twitch, 17 percent use WhatsApp, 14 percent use Reddit, and five percent use Tumblr. Regarding how much time they spend on social media, 36 percent of teens said they spent too much time on it, eight percent said too little, and 55 percent said their current use was about right.
A National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) study found that more time spent on social networking websites related to poor self-rated mental health, unmet need for mental health support, increased psychological distress, and increased suicidal ideation. The findings indicated that social networking websites contributed to increased exposure to and engagement in self-harm behavior. This is because users tended to emulate the self-injurious behavior of others online, adopt self-injurious practices from self-harm videos, or were encouraged and acclaimed by others and thus normalized self-injurious thoughts and behavior.
A 10-year Brigham Young University (BYU) study specifically found a correlation between time spent on social media and suicide risk among teenage girls. BYU noted that suicide was now the second-leading cause of death among people ten to 34 years of age.
The BYU study found that girls using social media for at least two to three hours per day when they were about 13 years of age and then increased their use over time were at a higher clinical risk for suicide as emerging adults. The study's lead author, BYU professor Sarah Coyne, said 13 was not a bad age to begin social media. Still, it should begin at a really low level and have appropriately parental management.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Facebook repeatedly found its Instagram app harmed many teenagers. Facebook's own studies showed how Instagram harmed teenage girls.
One internal Facebook presentation said that among teens reporting suicidal thoughts, 13 percent of British users and six percent of American users traced the issue to Instagram. Researchers wrote that 32 percent of teen girls said that when they felt bad about their bodies, Instagram made them feel worse.
The Journal noted that over 40 percent of Instagram’s users were 22 years of age and younger. Senator Edward Markey and Representatives Kathy Castor and Lori Trahan wrote to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, demanding answers and calling for the company to abandon its plans to develop an Instagram for Kids platform.
Six months before the Journal story, Representatives Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Bob Latta, Gus Bilirakis, and Morgan Griffith issued letters to Big Tech CEOs requesting information about internal research or studies the companies conducted to better understand their product’s effect on children’s mental health.