Los Angeles – As we spend more time on scrolling in the teenage, new studies show that emotional tolls can be much larger than they have previously understood.
Large -scale long -term studies on almost 12,000 children showed that the symptoms of depression increased significantly in the next year when children increased the use of social media.
Post Jama Network opened on May 21st.This study solved the long gap between mental health research. Whether social media use causes depression or simply reflects the existing struggle.
Focusing on children between 9 and 13 years of age over four years, researchers have found a clear and personal pattern that worsens more time online. This discovery has increased concerns about youth welfare, and mental health professionals and parents find more clear guidelines for clear guidelines.
How is the use of social media affect the mental health of youth?
Back story:
For many years, experts have discussed whether social media harms children’s mental health or reflect existing challenges. Past studies have often been limited to snapshots, usually focused on older teenagers and college students. This did not answer critical questions. Is scrolling leading to sadness? Or are you scrolling more sadly?
The new study has traced almost 12,000 participants in the next three years, using its own social media time and parent reporting depression scores using data from the ABCD (Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development) study, the largest long -term brain development research among US researchers.
What they say:
Dr. Jason Nagata and his team concluded that the increase in social media was consistently higher depressive symptoms. In particular, depression symptoms did not predict the use of social media later. Emphasizing relationships is not just a feedback loop for sad children to switch to the screen.
The authors said that the results of the survey suggested that clinicians should provide anticipated guidelines for the use of social media for teenagers and parents. In other words, restricting social media can be a form of mental health in an important development window.
Why should you take care:
The mental health of the youth is already in crisis, and 42%of the teenagers in 2021 have reported sorrow or despair.
File -Sit on the floor of a teenager and use a smartphone. You can see various apps on the display. (Photo of ELISA SCHU/Picture Alliance through Getty Images)
The research author added urgency to the calls of pediatricians, parents and lawmakers, treating social media at a vulnerable time, like other health exposure. Unlike previous studies, this shows the direction link. In other words, it is not a correlation but a warning signal.
Number:
The size and result of this study provides a clear picture of how social media use it over time.
- 11,876 children are tracked between 9 and 13 years old
- Increasing social media use is associated with an increase of 7-9% of depressed symptoms compared to the previous year.
- There is no evidence that depressive symptoms have led to the use of more social media.
- The study period was analyzed from 2024 to 2025 from 2016-2022.
Next:
As evidence is strengthened, pressure can increase for schools, technology companies and parents. Expected guidelines for clinical trials may include more stringent screen time limit, digital literacy training, or more structured offline activities. Some experts also require platform -level changes to reduce addictive and prioritize mental health for young users.
Source: This article is based on JAMA NETWORK Open’s May 2025 study, titled “Social Media Use and Depression,” by Dr. Jason M. Nagata and colleagues. This study used the longitudinal data of the ABCD research for federal funding youth brain cognitive development (ABCD). The further context comes from the advice on social media and youth mental health of the US surgeon in 2023.
