Social media time does not increase teenagers’ mental health problems – study

UK study comes as ministers consider Australia’s ban on social media use for under-16s

Screen time spent gaming or on social media does not cause mental health problems in teenagers, according to a large-scale study.

With ministers in the UK considering whether to follow Australia’s example by banning social media use for under-16s, the findings challenge concerns that long periods spent gaming or scrolling TikTok or Instagram s driving an increase in teenagers’ depression, anxiety and other mental health conditions.

Researchers at the University of Manchester followed 25,000 11-14-year-olds over three school years, tracking their self-reported social media habits, gaming frequency and emotional difficulties to find out whether technology use genuinely predicted later mental health difficulties.

Participants were asked how much time on a normal weekday in term time they spent on TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and other social media, or gaming. They were also asked questions about their feelings, mood and wider mental health.