Social Media & (especially Girls’) Mental Health

Assorted notes from

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Haidt, J. (2023, February 22). Social media is a major cause of the mental illness epidemic in teen girls. here’s the evidence. https://jonathanhaidt.substack.com/p/social-media-mental-illness-epidemic

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U.S. Surgeon General. (2023). Social Media and Youth Mental Health: The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory.

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Thai, H., Davis, C. G., Mahboob, W., Perry, S., Adams, A., & Goldfield, G. S. (2023). Reducing social media use improves appearance and weight esteem in youth with emotional distress. Psychology of Popular Media. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000460

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data. Available at: www.cdc.gov/yrbs. Accessed on 5/18/2023.

Beneficial Preface

• We do not want to ignore or omit the many positives to social media use, before we outline some important facts and concerns:
• Social networking and connection
• Communication, collaboration, and informing decisions and opinions
• Exploration of interests and identity
• And more
• That said, we want to illuminate some of the negative impacts of social media use as well.

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Assorted notes from

U.S. Surgeon General. (2023). Social Media and Youth Mental Health: The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory.

Website Essay

• 2011-2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey
• 57% teen girls say they experience persistent sadness or hopelessness (36% 2011)
• 30% say they have seriously considered suicide (19% 2011)
• Boys also doing badly, but lower rates and less increase than girls
• It’s time to accept causation with social media and not dance around correlation. There is enough new data published in recent years.
• And, social media is only part of the rewiring of childhood more largely from play-based to computer/phone-based.
• Less risky & unsupervised play (essential for overcoming fear and fragility) toward coddling and overprotection. No experience and navigation of discomfort.
• More time sapped from sleep, play, and in-person socializing. More addiction and impossible social comparisons.

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Assorted notes from

Haidt, J. (2023, February 22). Social media is a major cause of the mental illness epidemic in teen girls. here’s the evidence. jonathanhaidt.substack.com/p/social-media-mental-illness-epidemic

Website Essay

• Phones and social media have penetrated beyond a simple cause and effect, because everyone’s life is changed, regardless of individual use/consumption.
• Social activity has become asynchronous for everyone. Not engaging/using/consuming now isolates, which is its own risk factor.
• “Each girl might be worse off quitting Instagram even though all girls would be better off if everyone quit.”
• When you isolate variables enough and as more longitudinal data comes in, there is enough data showing that heavy social media (isolated from digital media more generally) use is correlated to depression and anxiety and has a larger effect for girls.
• r=.15-.20…for comparison, childhood lead exposure & IQ is r=.11.
• Heavy social media use’s correlation with depression & anxiety is > substance use, although < that of sleep deprivation.

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Assorted notes from

Haidt, J. (2023, February 22). Social media is a major cause of the mental illness epidemic in teen girls. here’s the evidence. jonathanhaidt.substack.com/p/social-media-mental-illness-epidemic

Website Essay, APA Study

• True experimental data is mostly college students, but again longitudinal data shows negative mental health effects of social media, famously Instagram for girls, and positive effects of limited/reduced use of social media.
• Quasi-experimental data points to the same effects.
• Timeline:
• Insta 2010.
• iPhone 4 2010 (front-facing camera)
• 2012 Facebook buys Insta, and the propagation (including newer apps) since is history
• 2023 APA Study found that reduced social media use led to significant improvements in appearance and weight esteem.

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Assorted notes from

Haidt, J. (2023, February 22). Social media is a major cause of the mental illness epidemic in teen girls. here’s the evidence. jonathanhaidt.substack.com/p/social-media-mental-illness-epidemic

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Thai, H., Davis, C. G., Mahboob, W., Perry, S., Adams, A., & Goldfield, G. S. (2023). Reducing social media use improves appearance and weight esteem in youth with emotional distress. Psychology of Popular Media. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000460

Surgeon General Advisory

• ⅓ of youth 13-17 say they use social media “almost constantly.” 8th & 10th graders average 3.5 hrs/day.
• Adolescents who spent 3+ hours/day on social media faced double the risk of experiencing poor mental health outcomes including symptoms of depression and anxiety.
• On a typical weekday, nearly ⅓ adolescents report using social media until midnight or later.
• Not to mention exposure to harmful content, predatory behavior, and neurological changes that affect sleep, attention, and more.

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Assorted notes from

U.S. Surgeon General. (2023). Social Media and Youth Mental Health: The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory.

2023 Pew Research Center Study

• More Black and Hispanic teens report being online “almost constantly.”
• Girls more likely to report being on most sites/apps.

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Assorted notes from

Pew Research Center. Teens, Social Media and Technology 2023. Available at: www.pewresearch.org/internet/2023/12/11/teens-social-media-and-technology-2023/. Accessed on 1/2/2024.

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2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey Overview

• Fall 2021 data of course adjacent to pandemic, but the trends were already there.
• High school students across the country.
• Several areas of continued improvement: risky sexual behavior, substance use, and bullying at school.
• All other indicators worsened significantly, and mostly disproportionately for females and LGBQ+: protective sexual behaviors, experiences of violence, mental health, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors.
• more than 40% of high school students feeling so sad or hopeless that they could not engage in their regular activities for at least two weeks during the previous year.
• Significant increases in the percentage of youth who seriously considered suicide, made a suicide plan, and attempted suicide.

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Assorted notes from

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data. Available at: www.cdc.gov/yrbs. Accessed on 5/18/2023.

2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey Select Results

• Sexual Behavior
• 30% ever had sex (47% 2011)
• 3.7% males and 13.2% females report sexual contact with oppo sex.
• 21% currently sexually active
• 52% of those active used a condom during last sexual intercourse
• 33% of those active used hormonal birth control
• 14% used no method to prevent pregnancy last sexual intercourse w/ oppo sex partner
• 5% tested for STDs during past year
• Substance Use
• 13% ever used illicit drugs, similar for ever misused prescription opioids
• 21% LGBQ+, 11% heterosexual
• 23% drank alcohol within past 30 days (39% 2011)
• 14% rode w/ a driver who had been drinking
• 16% used marijuana within past 30 days (23% 2011)
• 18% used a vape within past 30 days
• 14% of students offered, sold, or given an illegal drug on school property.

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Assorted notes from

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data. Available at: www.cdc.gov/yrbs. Accessed on 5/18/2023.

2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey Select Results

• Experienced Violence
• 7% threatened or injured with a weapon at school
• 9% did not go to school because of safety concerns
• 16% electronically bullied
• 20% female, 11% male
• 27% LGBQ+, 13% heterosexual
• 15% bullied at school
• 8% forced to have sex
• 14% female, 4% male
• 20% LGBQ+, 5% heterosexual
• 11% experienced sexual violence
• 18% female, 5% male
• 22% LGBQ+, 8% heterosexual

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Assorted notes from

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data. Available at: www.cdc.gov/yrbs. Accessed on 5/18/2023.

2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey Select Results

• Mental Health and Suicidality
• 42% experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness (28% 2011)
• 57% female, 29% male
• 69% LGBQ+, 35% heterosexual
• 29% experienced poor mental health
• 41% female, 18% male
• 52% LGBQ+, 22% heterosexual
• 22% seriously considered attempting suicide
• 30% female, 14%male
• 45% LGBQ+, 15% heterosexual
• 18% made a plan
• 24% female, 12% male
• 37% LGBQ+, 12% heterosexual
• 10% attempted
• 13% female, 7% male
• 22% LGBQ+, 6% heterosexual

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Assorted notes from

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data. Available at: www.cdc.gov/yrbs. Accessed on 5/18/2023.

2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey Select Results

• Protective factors:
• School connectedness
• High parental monitoring (knowing where children are and with whom)
• 8+ hours of sleep
• Mental health services and referrals (school and community)
• School health education

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Assorted notes from

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data. Available at: www.cdc.gov/yrbs. Accessed on 5/18/2023.

Tying back in Social Media

• Pros: connection and interaction
• Cons: addiction, unrealistic expectations and feelings of inadequacy, bullying
• Teens who spend five or more hours per day on their devices are 71% more likely to have one risk factor for suicide.
• Reduced face-to-face interaction can put us at higher risk for mental health issues
• Because teens have less “cushion” of maturity and life experiences, they have less resilience toward the negative impacts of social media
• 52% of students said social media made them feel less confident about how they look or how interesting their life is
• Increase in social media use = more prone to develop an eating disorder
• Limiting social media use to 30 minutes each day, can lead to significant reductions in symptoms of loneliness and depression
• 92% of parents think social media/the internet is having a negative impact on their children’s mental health

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Assorted notes from

Unknown. (2023, May 24). Social Media and Mental Health: How does Social Media Affect Mental Health? www.priorygroup.com/mental-health/social-media-and-mental-health

What Can Parents Do?

• Awareness and openness: partner with your kids and model a healthy lifestyle! Talk with your kids and other parents about it!
• Students AND PARENTS should think about 1) what aspects of social media do they think are potentially harmful or do they want to stop or limit, 2) what can they do about triggers can lead to #1, and 3) what healthy replacement options are in their toolkit.
• Example: 1) I want to limit mindless scrolling on X to 30 minutes/day, 2) I can turn off some or all notifications or limit screen time in that app, 3) I now have more time (without distraction) for exercise, reading, listening to music.
• Talk with your kids about their teenage reality: sexual behavior and consent, availability of substances, and mental health!
• Consider boundaries on device usage. E.g., for students, the phone is charged in the parent’s room from 9pm-7am.
• Restrict app or WiFi usage

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Assorted notes from

Unknown. (2023, May 24). Social Media and Mental Health: How does Social Media Affect Mental Health? www.priorygroup.com/mental-health/social-media-and-mental-health

What Can Students Do?

• Ask for help.
• Consider boundaries on device usage.
• Breaks, turning off notifications.
• Track your usage and hold yourself accountable. Having a balance of in-person interaction is important.
• Be cautious online and protect yourself.
• assume anything you post/share could be permanent and public
• unfriend/unfollow/mute accounts that are disrespectful or don’t make you feel good about yourself.
• Be thoughtful about what communities you identify with. Engage with people that make you feel seen and provide support and positivity.

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Assorted notes from

U.S. Surgeon General. (2023). Social Media and Youth Mental Health: The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory.

UNC Dr. Mitch Prinstein Presentations

https://youtu.be/DU5-QzO5BV4?si=X_WhnIs-2GJw0Iz7

https://youtu.be/kLuiOU-dmiU?si=derEx7BrGMdDE8m1

Duke Dr. Lisa Damour Presentation

https://youtu.be/BicPu-W5QuQ?si=YOfGbW71dIUB_b7c

• Tier 1 Teen Needs
• Sleep
• Caring adults
• Sense of being counted on, sense of purpose
• Need chores, responsibilities, family decision-making agency, extracurriculars and service to others
• Accurately define mental health and appropriate feelings. Distress is normal/helpful/healthy, but you need healthy coping, and you do still need to seek help for safety/danger concerns.
• Tier 2 Teen Interventions
• Connected to an adult at school.
• Empowered to alert adults to safety/danger concerns.
• Address attendance intensively! Anxiety is treatable.
• Focus on problematic social media use (compulsivity, displacement of other things they should be doing)