Statement on Smartphone and Social Media Impact on Teen Mental Health

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206 Pages Posted: 17 May 2025 Last revised: 22 May 2025

See all articles by Valerio Capraro

Valerio Capraro

Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca - Department of Psychology

Laura Globig

New York University (NYU) - New York University

Kaitlyn Burnell

University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill - University of North Carolina School of Law

Anne Maheux

University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill - University of North Carolina School of Law

Dan-Mircea Mirea

Princeton University - Princeton University

Phillip Ozimek

Ruhr University of Bochum - Mental Health Research and Treatment Center

Jon-Patrick Allem

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey - School of Public Health

Vahid Ashrafi

Stevens Institute of Technology - School of Business

Luca Braghieri

Bocconi University - Department of Decision Sciences

Romain Cadario

Erasmus University, Rotterdam School of Management

Sarah M. Coyne

Brigham Young University, School of Family Life

Serena Daalmans

Radboud University Nijmegen - Radboud University Nijmegen

Katie Davis

University of Washington - The Information School

Munmun De Choudhury

Georgia Institute of Technology - School of Interactive Computing

Tim Derksen

University of Alberta - School of Business

Lauren Hale

State University of New York (SUNY), Stony Brook

Jessica Hamilton

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey - School of Arts and Sciences

Stephen P. Hinshaw

University of California, Berkeley - Department of Psychology

David S. Lee

State University of New York (SUNY) - University at Buffalo

Ro'ee Levy

Tel Aviv University - Eitan Berglas School of Economics

Alexey Makarin

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Sloan School of Management; Einaudi Institute for Economics and Finance (EIEF); Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

Tamar Mendelson

Johns Hopkins University - Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Students

Diana Miconi

McGill University - Department of Psychiatry

Andras Molnar

University of Chicago - Booth School of Business

Marc N. Potenza

Yale University - Department of Psychiatry

Thomas Potrebny

Western Norway University of Applied Sciences

Brian Primack

University of Pittsburgh - Medical Center (UPMC)

Phil Reed

Swansea University - Department of Psychology

Pamela Rutledge

Media Psychology Research Center; Fielding Graduate University, Media Psychology

Ariel Shensa

University of Pittsburgh - School of Medicine

Ze'ev Shtudiner

Ariel University - Department of Economics

Lena Song

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Johannes Thrul

Johns Hopkins University - Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Marek Vranka

Prague University of Economics and Business; Charles University in Prague

Joshua Watson

Texas A&M University (TAMU), Central Texas

Jonathan Haidt

New York University (NYU) - Leonard N. Stern School of Business

Jay J. Van Bavel

New York University (NYU) - Department of Psychology & Neural Science

Date Written: May 16, 2025

Abstract

The impact of smartphones and social media use on adolescent mental health remains widely debated. To clarify expert opinion, we convened over 120 international researchers from 11 disciplines, representing a broad range of views. Using a Delphi method, the panel evaluated 26 claims covering international trends in adolescent mental health, causal links to smartphones and social media, and policy recommendations. The experts suggested 1,400 references and produced a consensus statement for each claim. The following conclusions were rated as accurate or somewhat accurate by 92–97% of respondents: First, adolescent mental health has declined in several Western countries over the past 20 years. Second, heavy smartphone and social media use can cause sleep problems. Third, smartphone and social media use correlate with attention problems and behavioural addiction. Fourth, among girls, social media use may be associated with body dissatisfaction, perfectionism, exposure to mental disorders, and risk of sexual harassment and predation. Fifth, evidence on social deprivation and relational aggression is limited. Sixth, the evidence for policies like age restrictions and school bans is preliminary. Overall, the results of this deliberative process and the set of concrete recommendations provided can help guide future research and evidence-informed policy on adolescent technology use.

Keywords: social media, mental health, adolescence, consensus statement, sleep, addiction, attention, sociality, development, cyberbulling, harassment, social contagion, body image, policymaking, interventions

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Capraro, Valerio and Globig, Laura and Rausch, Zachary and Rathje, Steve and Wormley, Alexandra and Olson, Jay and Ross, Robert and Aşçı, Sinan and Bouguettaya, Ayoub and Burnell, Kaitlyn and Choukas-Bradley, Sophia and Fardouly, Jasmine and Kowert, Rachel and Lopez, Richard and Maheux, Anne and Mirea, Dan-Mircea and Ozimek, Phillip and Selterman, Dylan and Thiagarajan, Tara and Vandenbosch, Laura and Wals, Sammy and Abi-Jaoude, Elia and Adler, Perry and Alaimo, Kara and Allem, Jon-Patrick and Ashrafi, Vahid and Baumgartner, Susanne E. and Bender, Patrick and Bernstein, Gaia and Bhanot, Syon and Bilek, Emily and Boivin, Michel and Braghieri, Luca and Brailovskaia, Julia and Brienza, Justin and Bunker, Cameron and Cadario, Romain and Campos-Castillo, Celeste and Chein, Jason and Clark, Lynn and Colditz, Jason and Coulson, Mark and Couture Bue, Amelia and Coyne, Sarah M. and Curran, Thomas and Daalmans, Serena and Davenport, Diag and David, Meredith and Davis, Chris and Davis, Katie and De Choudhury, Munmun and Derksen, Tim and Dezső, Linda and Domoff, Sarah E. and Ellithorpe, Morgan and Englander, Elizabeth K. and Farivar, Samira and Fernandez-Kranz, Daniel and Fisher, Jacob and Gabrielli, Joy and Gentile, Douglas and Gentzkow, Matthew and Giuntella, Osea and Gjoneska, Biljana and Green, Melanie and Hale, Lauren and Haltigan, John and Hamilton, Jessica and Hartmann, Tilo and Hilbig, Benjamin and Hinshaw, Stephen P. and Hmurovic, Jillian and Hoffman, Beth and Hornsey, Matthew and Hunt, Melissa and Janicke-Bowles, Sophie and Kim, El-Lim and Kuss, Daria J. and Lee, David S. and Levy, Ro'ee and Maani, Nason and Makarin, Alexey and Mendelson, Tamar and Michikyan, Minas and Miconi, Diana and Milani, Luca and Modecki, Kathryn and Molnar, Andras and Navarro, Jessica and Pagliarani, Stefano and Paquin, Vincent and Parry, Douglas and Pavic, Nicholas and Pila, Sarah and Potenza, Marc N. and Potrebny, Thomas and Primack, Brian and Reed, Phil and Roth, Yefim and Rutledge, Pamela and Rutledge, Pamela and Sabatini, Fabio and Sandra, Dasha and Sazhin, Daniel and Shensa, Ariel and Shrum, L. J. and Shtudiner, Ze'ev and Sina, Elida and Sobolev, Michael and Somogyi, Eszter and Song, Lena and Thai, Helen and Thrul, Johannes and Tiggemann, Marika and Truzoli, Roberto and VanderWeele, Tyler and Veissiere, Samuel and Vidal, Carol and Vranka, Marek and Watson, Joshua and Wegmann, Elisa and Weigle, Paul and Whitted, Whitney and Wilksch, Simon and Williams, Mark and Zhang, Ning and Zimmermann, Laura and Kross, Ethan and Haidt, Jonathan and Van Bavel, Jay J., A Consensus Statement on Potential Negative Impacts of Smartphone and Social Media Use on Adolescent Mental Health (May 16, 2025). Seton Hall Law School Legal Studies Research Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=5256747 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5256747

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