This Is How Social Media Affects Youth Mental Health: Charlie Health Data

Learn about how social media affects youth mental health.

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Young people today have spent their whole lives on social media, and all this time on the platforms is taking a toll. The link between social media and the youth mental health crisis has become more undeniable than ever, especially following a landmark California trial that found tech giants like Meta and YouTube liable for the damaging, addictive design of their platforms. 

Here at Charlie Health, we dug into the data, surveying over 21,000 adolescents about how social media affects their mental health. Read on to learn more about our findings — including the good and the bad — along with how to cultivate healthy social media use for teens in your life.

Research: The impact of social media on youth mental health

For today’s adolescents, social media is rarely just one thing — it acts as both a positive and negative part of their lives. To better understand this complex relationship, Charlie Health looked at how daily screen time actively shapes youth self-esteem, well-being, and the growing struggle to log off. Here is what the data revealed.

Social media and self-esteem

The largest share of respondents—nearly 4 in 10 (38.7%)—reported that social media had a neutral impact on their self-esteem, describing it as “neither positive nor negative.” However, these young people also spent the least time using social media of any group of active social media users, averaging 5.6 hours per day. By contrast, the nearly 5% of respondents who think social media has a “very negative” effect on their self-esteem averaged the most use per day (7.25 hours). 

Another 16.6% of adolescents reported a “somewhat negative” impact on self-esteem, while just over 9% felt the platforms had a “very positive” effect.

Limiting, or abstaining from, social media usage

The struggle to log off is widespread, but it hits the youngest cohorts hardest. About 1 in 3 adolescents surveyed told Charlie Health that they “sometimes” have difficulty limiting their social media use, and nearly 1 in 10 “always” struggle to regulate their habits. Notably, younger respondents were more likely to say they “always” struggle to limit their use — potentially due to their less developed self-regulation skills or other factors. 

The 12.5% of respondents who reported using no social media at all also skewed younger, a reality that could point to strict parental controls rather than an adolescent’s personal choice. However, “zero use” didn’t entirely mean zero screen time. This group still logged an average of 1 hour per day — a discrepancy that highlights the complexities of tracking youth data, whether due to minor underreporting, passive background screen time, or a narrower definition of what actually counts as “social media.”

Time spent on social media

Maintaining a healthy relationship with social media is a steep challenge, and a user’s level of self-regulation is a powerful predictor of overall screen time. Our data shows that participants who frequently struggle to limit their social media use spend a staggering average of 9.3 hours per day on these platforms. Meanwhile, those who report never struggling log nearly half that amount, averaging 5.1 hours per day.

What are the downsides of social media for teens?

Our data and external sources demonstrate that there are some clear negative effects of using these platforms. “The social media environment can expose youth to things like cyberbullying and social pressures as well as disrupt sleep patterns, which can increase the likelihood of depression, anxiety, body dysmorphia, poor academic performance, and loneliness,” says Charlie Health Licensed Creative Arts Therapist, Brooke Cortez, MSW, MT-BC, NMT. 

Cortez adds that social media might also cause social isolation, reducing the amount of time adolescents spend face-to-face with other people. In our own survey, social media use had a very small but significant impact on depression and anxiety symptoms in adolescents. 

These findings align with the negative effects that led governments and users to push back against social media companies. They found that tech platforms intentionally engineered addictive design features (such as infinite scroll and autoplay) that hook young users, disrupt self-regulation, and deteriorate youth mental health.

What are the benefits of social media for teens?

With that said, social media can undoubtedly also have a positive impact on adolescents. As Cortez explains, social media can provide “social opportunities and support, such as special interest groups and gaming communities that provide new platforms for social opportunities and acceptance. Many groups offer peer support that they may not be able to cultivate in their community or family, like LGBTQIA+ groups and neurodivergent groups, to name a few.”

Social media provides a space to create these bonds and feel understood in ways a young person might not be able to in their daily life. It also allows them to educate themselves on experiences they have had or things they might be feeling. Of course, this comes with a big caveat that social media can also cause the spread of misinformation or lead someone to self-diagnose based on a post or video, rather than with the support of a mental health professional.

How to cultivate healthy social media use 

It’s challenging to log off social media. There’s so much to absorb, fear of missing something, and ways to interact. But finding ways to have a healthy relationship with social media, rather than mindless—or doom—scrolling, could improve your mental health. 

Cortez recommends taking breaks from social media and even limiting screen time. It “can be helpful in balancing out the time spent online and in-person social tasks,” she explains. You might choose to set boundaries around your social media use, whether it’s a daily limit, not using it before bed, or turning off your notifications. 

It can also help to think about why you’re using social media. Is it to build certain connections? Try to prioritize that rather than focusing on the clutter. 

How Charlie Health can help

If you or a loved one is struggling with your mental health, Charlie Health can help. Charlie Health is a virtual behavioral health provider delivering high-acuity treatment for kids, teens, and adults facing serious mental health conditions and substance use disorders. Our innovative treatment model combines clinical expertise, group connection, and measurement-based care to support long-term healing. With the right support, managing your mental health and relationships is possible. Fill out the form below to start healing today.