Increased Social Media Use Linked to Rising Depressive Symptoms in Early Adolescents

New research calls for supportive strategies that help youth navigate their digital lives safely | Image credit: reewungjunerr - stock.adobe.com

Increased social media use and rising depressive symptoms during early adolescence exhibited a significant association in new findings published today in JAMA.1 The data yielded from a cohort study from the national Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study, which tracks nearly 12,000 children and adolescents, suggest that social media use may play a contributing role in declining mental health among younger adolescents.

Concerns surrounding declining mental health in the US have garnered heightened awareness and increased investigation in recent years. The number of young people grappling with mental health conditions surged by 28% since 2018, with an even more staggering increase of 48% observed among those diagnosed with more than 1 mental health issue.2 In 2023, an advisory on social media and youth mental health was issued by the US Surgeon General.3

Social Media Use May Precede Mental Health Decline

The new study analyzed data from 11,876 participants, aged 9 to 10 years at baseline, over a 3-year period, assessing both self-reported time spent on social media and depressive symptoms annually.1 After accounting for individual differences and demographic factors, the study found that within-person increases in social media use were significantly associated with greater depressive symptoms a year later. This pattern was consistent from year 1 to year 2 (β = 0.07; P = .01) and from year 2 to year 3 (β = 0.09; P < .001).

Importantly, the reverse was not true; elevated depressive symptoms did not predict increased social media use in the following year, indicating a one-way relationship in which more time online appears to precede worsening mental health.

Filling a Critical Research Gap in Youth Mental Health

The research addresses an important issue highlighted in the 2023 US Surgeon General’s Advisory on Social Media and Youth Mental Health, which stressed the necessity for more robust longitudinal data.3 Most existing studies have been cross-sectional or concentrated on older teens and young adults. In contrast, this study provides a unique perspective by examining younger adolescents, beginning at age 9, and tracking their development through the critical early teen years.1

“These findings provide initial evidence of temporal ordering and could suggest that social media use is a potential contributing factor to adolescent depressive symptoms rather than merely a correlate or consequence of such symptoms,” the authors wrote.

No Evidence of Baseline Risk Driving Social Media Use

Contrary to concerns that young people with depressive symptoms may be turning to social media as a coping mechanism, this investigation found no evidence that preexisting depression led to increased social media use. Nor did differences between individuals in average time spent on social media predict depressive symptoms when controlling for family and demographic factors. Increases in usage beyond an individual's typical amount predicted worsening mood in the following year.

“Although our findings suggest that there is a unidirectional association between social media use and depression, with increases in social media use associated with depressive symptoms through subsequent years, prior research on adolescents, especially those with depressive symptoms, has shown that they can shift from maladaptive to more positive patterns of social media use when they become aware of its impact on their mood,” the authors noted.

Changes in individual social media habits, especially increases during early adolescence, may indicate a risk for developing depressive symptoms, according to the study. The authors recommend that clinicians provide anticipatory guidance to families regarding the mental health effects of screen time and social media use.

References

1. Nagata JM, Otmar CD, Shim J, et al. Social media use and depressive symptoms during early adolescence. JAMA Netw Open. 2025;8(5):e2511704. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.11704

2. Grossi G. Mental health diagnoses, care challenges rise among US youth, report finds. AJMC®. April 26, 2024. Accessed May 21, 2025. https://www.ajmc.com/view/mental-health-diagnoses-care-challenges-rise-among-us-youth-report-finds

3. Office of the US Surgeon General. Social media and youth mental health: the US Surgeon General’s Advisory. 2023. Accessed May 21, 2025. https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/sg-youth-mental-health-social-media-advisory.pdf