Spending more time on social media is making Canadian teenagers – especially girls – feel anxious, depressed and disconnected, according to a study co-led by University of Alberta researchers.
Using a sampling of thousands of teens, the research looked at how the daily amount of time spent on social media affects their mental health over one year, and whether the impact differs among boys, girls and gender-diverse youth.
“It’s important to provide evidence on the topic in the same group of adolescents over time, including transgender and gender-diverse youths, to better understand how these associations change or develop and if certain demographic groups are at greater risk,” says study co-author Dr. Valerie Carson, a professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation.
Past research has shown that girls have experienced a steeper increase in depression than boys, and transgender and gender-diverse youths disproportionately experience poorer mental health, such as depression, as well as a higher risk of self-harm and suicide, she noted.
In the new study, researchers analyzed two big group snapshots of youths aged 12 to 18: one with more than 58,000 teens in the 2021-22 school year, and another with nearly 45,000 teens in 2022-23. Researchers also tracked nearly 27,000 of the same adolescents from one year to the next. The sample groups were drawn from COMPASS, a large-scale research project to collect health and behaviour data from schools across British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Prince Edward Island and Quebec.
The researchers looked at how much time the youths spent scrolling through social media each day, and whether that amount increased or decreased over the year. Their levels of anxiety, depression and overall well-being were measured, along with how they managed their emotions and got along with others.
The results showed that just one extra hour of daily device use was linked to a 15 per cent higher chance of moderate to severe depression, along with a 12 to 13 per cent higher likelihood of similar levels of anxiety.
“These percentages are meaningful considering how many youth currently use social media on a daily basis,” notes Madelyn Curle, who led the study as part of her PhD work.
Higher levels of social media use were also tied to lower levels of well-being, poorer emotional control and a noticeable drop in the quality of personal relationships.
Girls affected most
Although extra time on social media was linked to worse mental health among all of the teens, associations were strongest in girls, the study suggests.
Past research points to some contributing factors, including how social media is used, Curle says.
“There is evidence that girls may use social media more intensively than boys. Additionally, social media use may have a larger influence on girls’ body image, which may lead to mental health concerns such as depression.”
Over time, increases in social media use from one year to the next predicted poorer mental health in all of the adolescents, and no gender differences were observed.
“These findings combined with previous research have important policy implications for protecting youth,” says Carson.
Future studies need to look at which apps teens are using and whether they are using them actively or passively, she adds, but the study’s results do appear to support the case for newly introduced Canadian legislation – the Safe Social Media Act – which proposes restricting use by youths under 16.
“Our findings suggest that decreasing social media use over time may support better mental health outcomes among adolescents, so introduction of the act may be one way to reduce that usage,” she adds.
Future policy also needs to include input from youths, Curle suggests.
“There may be some benefits to social media, including connection, identity development and social support for LGBTQIA+ teens, so they need to be engaged in discussions to ensure that while policies reduce potential harms of social media, they are also equitable.”
