New Gallup survey data show that U.S. teenagers spend an average of 4.8 hours per day using social media—far more time than they spend watching television, doing homework, perusing hobbies, and playing video games. There are strong theoretical reasons to believe that teenagers both overuse social media and that it is harmful psychologically; moreover, the timing of greater use coincides with declining mental health. YouTube and TikTok account for most of teens’ time on social media, among the platforms included in this IFS/Gallup study.

Time spent on social media predicts significantly lower mental health and higher discomfort with one’s body in simple models adjusting only for child sex and age. Teens who spend more than 5 hours a day on social media were 2.5 times more likely to express suicidal thoughts or harm themselves, 2.4 times more likely to hold a negative view of their body, and 40% more likely to report a lot of sadness the day before. In our study, these mental health problems were only associated with YouTube and TikTok, with no effects found for Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or other platforms, perhaps because teens use these platforms less and/or use them for different reasons. Body image problems show significant effects associated with time spent on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and WhatsApp, but not the other platforms included in this study.

Children who exhibit greater self-control and/or live with parents who restrict screen time, supervise them, and sustain a strong relationship are far less likely to spend 4 hours or more per day on social media. The negative effects of high social media use on mental health are no longer observed when matching youth on these personality and parental characteristics, and the negative effects on body image problems are cut in half, though they remain significant. In other words, screen time has no association with an index of mental health problems for teens who demonstrate high levels of self-control and enjoy a strong relationship with parents who supervise them—a minority of American teens. Yet even teens with these characteristics show greater risk of body image issues if they are heavy users of social media.