Social media is contributing to adolescent loneliness and depression.

It’s not a secret that anxiety, depression and loneliness have increased significantly since the pandemic.

In fact, it was already on the increase since 2009 — which is when smart devices and social media hit the scene and landed in the hands of a growing number of adolescents.

Let me explain...

When we look at data trends, we can see a correlation.

Since 2009 there has been both a consistent increase in smart device and social media use at younger ages plus a dramatic increase in amount of time spent on social media and apps.

Following the same timeline, anxiety, loneliness and depression increased. 

Then when the pandemic hit, they both shot up significantly. 

> We went almost fully virtual, and in-person engagement was cut off. 

> Social media use replaced many of those in-person connections, yet loneliness and depression increased (rather than maintain or decrease).

Adolescents, who’s social engagement needs are a major component of their developmental growth, felt the brunt of these sudden changes.

And now they can't get out of it.

The outcome is an adolescent generation that is now reliant on technology and social media for continous social connectivity. It’s replaced human connections experienced by previous generations. It’s changed teenagers behaviors and how they interact with the world immediately around them.

Admittedly, not all social media use is bad. Some studies show adolescents with limited daily use experienced positive feelings. But for those with 3.5 or more hours, it appears to be less favorable.

Teenagers are now constantly notified of DMs, “Snaps”, emails, news and texts. They check their phones and smart watches in class for likes, shares, and comments in lieu of listening to their teacher.

If they’re not “wired in” they miss out on celebrity news, fashion trends, and hot products.  If they don't know the latest viral videos or memes, they’re not "with it".

It also means they now have breaking news, politics, bullying, predators and comparison literally at their fingertips almost 24/7. 

On top of that, a growing number of recent studies show increased concern of harm for girls who appear to experience negative health outcomes related to body image and disordered eating behaviors. One of the studies on 14-year old girls showed “greater social media use predicted poor sleep, online harassment, poor body image, low self-esteem, and higher depression symptom scores.”

That's a lot to handle for a young developing person who's already faced with their own turmoil due to normal physical and emotional pubescent changes.

A 2023 Gallup study revealed U.S. teenagers spent nearly 5 hours on social media daily. Of the teens with 5+ hours of social media use, 41%  rated their overall mental health as poor or very poor.

Just take a look at the significant increases in anxiety, depression and loneliness among youth and you start to see there’s a connection here.

Why is this happening?

Two Reasons:

1. Teens with higher use, tended to have less parental supervision.

2. Social connectedness has decreased...as a result of increased social media use.

What I mean by that is while kids are more connected to the world through technology and social media, they're less connected to those immediately around them, in real life. 

Think about it, if they're spending upwards of 5+ hours on their devices, how much time is left to engage with people around them in a meaningful way?   

Plus, when they are in person, they're still spending much of that time engaged on their phones not interacting irl with each other.

Have you noticed that with your kids and their friends?

Buzzed with constant notifications from their watch or phone.

Here's why I believe it's a problem

By engaging less in real life, in-person and with the natural world, our children are losing out on relationship development skills, problem solving, creativity, exploration and so much more. 

Experiences we had as youth playing and hanging out with our friends, running around our neighborhoods, getting bored and coming up with crazy schemes and funny games, all contributed to essential life skills necessary for resilience, purpose, motivation, negotiation, problem-solving, innovation and many other areas we're seeing young people are either struggling with or completely lacking.

All of this is causing Generation Z to struggle mentally, like no other generation before. 

It's no wonder anxiety, loneliness and depression are on a scary upward trajectory!

What you can do as a parent

1. Establish and consistently maintain parental supervision over device and social media use. 

It's part of our job as parents -- maybe it's not in the original job description you signed up for, but it sure as heck has been added while we weren’t looking.

> You can take action by delaying the onset of device use, talking about social media positives, negatives and safe practices, and setting clear parameters on acceptable technology use. 

> Set daily time limits, rules for use in the bedroom, and limits on the apps your child is using

> Know what and who your kids are engaging with

2. Lead the way for the return to more interactive in-person connections.

> Foster face-to-face social opportunities for our kids with friends, family and community members

> Push schools to curb or even eliminate phone use

> Conduct regular social media breaks for the whole family

> Lead by example. Put the phone down, go by the same rules and engage 1:1 with our teens, irl. 

Social media and technology use are not evil, but they have become so deeply inserted into our daily lives that they’re literally ruling our behaviors and our happiness.

It’s up to parents to get that control back for ourselves and our kids.