Impact Of Social Media And Personal Devices On Mental Health

For many of us, checking Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and other social media is a part of our normal routine. In 2023, there was an estimated 4.9 billion social media users worldwide. The average person spends 145 minutes on social media every day. Viewing posts from friends and family across the world can be a way to make you feel more connected. However, social media use has a dark side. Social media can negatively impact our overall wellbeing by fueling anxiety, depression, loneliness and FOMO (fear or missing out).

These issues are especially prevalent in teens and young adults. Social media is here to stay and will continue to evolve and become more invasive. If you're spending a lot of time on social media and feeling sadness, dissatisfaction, frustration, or loneliness, it may be time to re-examine your relationship with your online presence. Understanding how social media impacts our mental health and overall wellbeing is important for yourself and your loved ones. Social media has become part of everyday life. We log in for networking, learning new skills, or finding inspiration.

With all the likes, posts, and comments, social media affects our mental health in various ways. While it’s easy to criticize social media as a detriment to mental health, this critique may not fully capture the bigger picture. Through personal and professional development, I’ve realized that social media’s potential for supporting mental health can be more in our control than we recognize, and opportunities to flourish may become more attainable with healthier... Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our five positive psychology tools for free. These science-based exercises will explore fundamental aspects of positive psychology including strengths, values, and self-compassion, and will give you the tools to enhance the wellbeing of your clients, students, or employees. In the last two decades, social media has transformed from a niche experiment in digital communication into a global force shaping nearly every aspect of our lives.

Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X (formerly Twitter), and countless others have rewired the way humans interact, share information, and perceive themselves. For billions of people across the globe, social media is the first thing they check in the morning and the last thing they glance at before sleep. But as powerful as social media has been in creating connections, it has also stirred deep questions: What is it doing to our minds? How does scrolling through curated images, endless videos, and streams of comments affect our sense of identity, belonging, and well-being? Is social media an empowering tool for self-expression, or is it an invisible thief of mental peace? To understand this, we must explore how social media impacts mental health across all ages—children, adolescents, adults, and older generations—through both the promises it holds and the pitfalls it presents.

At its core, social media is engineered to capture attention. Every notification, like, or comment triggers a surge of dopamine—a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and reward. This creates a cycle of craving and reward, similar to how the brain responds to food, gambling, or addictive substances. For children and adolescents, whose brains are still developing, these constant hits of stimulation can shape neural pathways in ways that affect focus, self-control, and emotional regulation. For adults, the cycle can fuel habits of distraction, procrastination, and even compulsive checking. Explore the different options for supporting NAMI's mission.

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Posted June 26, 2025 | Reviewed by Abigail Fagan Much has been said about rises in mental health problems reported by younger people over the past 20 years. It is estimated that the prevalence of anxiety for 18-to-25-year-olds was about 8% in 2008, compared with 15% in 20181, and it is now around 17%2. These figures certainly imply an increase in psychological problems for this age group. Many explanations have been put forth concerning factors responsible – such as living in a more uncertain world3, lack of resilience among the young4, or copycat reporting5. However, a suggestion that has not been explored in detail is that there is an increase in the experience of anxiety symptoms – not anxiety in the strict sense but as a result of...

It is certainly the case that the rise in reporting of anxiety by younger people over the last 20 years has been paralleled by a rise in social media use. Twenty years ago (in 2008, when the iPhone/smartphone was launched), the prevalence of social media usage among 18-to-25 year-olds was 65%6, and now is around 99%7. This increase of 50% mirrors the rise in anxiety (although, is less pronounced). Of course, this correlation fits several of the above explanations, and, although it sounds harsh, copycat reporting of psychological problems from videos posted by others on social media – for either attention or identity... However, another factor accompanying high social media use is social media withdrawal8 – which can sometimes (indeed often) present like symptoms of anxiety9. Excessive social media use can happen for any number of reasons.

I am not speaking about the personal reasons of the individual – which are of clinical importance – but of the underlying psychological processes. At least three such processes have been noted as important in this context: habit, addiction, and adjunct behaviours10,11. The latter are produced when there is a gap between the delivery of important reinforcers (events) in an organism’s environment, and behaviour emerges during this interval. Schedule-induced polydipsia is an example of this effect, where food is delivered to a rat at fixed intervals, and the rat comes to emit excessive drinking in between times – an effect linked with... This is an interesting suggestion in the context of social media use – is it just filling time between more important things?11 However, habit and addiction are better studied – both produce high levels... Broadly speaking, addiction is accompanied by several issues for the person in its grip.

It clearly has a major disruptive influence on that person’s life, and on the lives of people around them (who often notice this first, or care about it more). This is also true of a bad habit. However, addiction has two things that a habit does not – it leads to increasing usage over time to gain the same effects (tolerance); and, when the person is not using, they experience withdrawal... The latter is of interest in explaining part of the rise of anxiety-reporting by young people. (Social media addiction is not a current diagnosis in the DSM-5.) Social media has transformed the way we connect, communicate, and consume information.

It can foster community, amplify voices, and provide support — but it also poses risks to mental health. As research continues to explore this complex relationship, it’s clear that understanding and mitigating the negative impacts of social media is a growing public health priority. “Social media can be a great way to stay connected, but it’s important to notice how it makes you feel,” said Dr. Jeffrey Borenstein, President and CEO of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation and host of the public television show Healthy Minds. “If you find it’s affecting your mood or sleep, take a break — your mental health comes first.” While people of all ages use social media, young people — whose brains and coping mechanisms are still developing — appear particularly vulnerable to its harmful effects.

But adults, too, are at risk of developing unhealthy patterns of social media use that can negatively affect mood and relationships. Understanding how, why, and for whom social media affects mental health remains an active area of scientific inquiry. Researchers are exploring: As an organization that funds mental health research, we are committed to advancing knowledge in this area and supporting evidence-based interventions that promote mental well-being in a digital world. Background: The impact of social media on adolescent mental health has become a critical area of research as social media usage has surged among youth. Despite extensive research, findings on this relationship remain inconsistent, with various studies reporting both negative and positive effects.

This scoping review aims to clarify the multifaceted nature of this relationship by analyzing the recent literature. Objective: This review aims to analyze the current evidence regarding the effects of social media use on adolescent mental health, identify consistent patterns and discrepancies in the findings, identify gaps in our knowledge, and... Methods: A scoping review was conducted following Arksey and O'Malley's five-stage approach. Searches were performed in PubMed, MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Scopus for articles published between July 2020 and July 2024. Inclusion criteria were systematic reviews, umbrella reviews, narrative reviews, and meta-analyses written in English focusing on youth/adolescents' mental health and social media. The search strategy identified 1005 articles, of which 43 relevant articles survived the reviewer selection process, from which data were extracted and analyzed to inform this review.

Results: The majority of studies linked social media use to adverse mental health outcomes, particularly depression and anxiety. However, the relationship was complex, with evidence suggesting that problematic use and passive consumption of social media were most strongly associated with adverse effects. In contrast, some studies highlighted positive aspects, including enhanced social support and reduced isolation. The mental health impact of social media use, specifically during the COVID-19 pandemic, was mixed, with the full range of neutral, negative, and positive effects reported. Conclusions: The nature of social media's impact on adolescent mental health is highly individualistic and influenced by moderating factors. This review supports the notion that social media's effects on adolescent mental health can be context specific and may be shaped by patterns of usage.

A focus on longitudinal studies in future research will be useful for us to understand long-term effects and develop targeted interventions in this context. Enhancing digital literacy and creating supportive online environments are essential to maximizing the benefits of social media while mitigating its risks. Keywords: adolescent; mental health; review; social media; youth. The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The funder had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, the interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript or the decision to submit the... PRISMA diagram detailing the study identification and selection process.

PRISMA, Preferred Reporting Items… The advent of smartphones and social media has brought about significant changes in our society, with profound implications for mental health. Smartphones have transformed the way we communicate, learn, and entertain ourselves. However, their omnipresence can lead to compulsive use and a sense of dependency. The constant stream of notifications and updates can create a sense of urgency and a fear of missing out, leading to increased anxiety and stress. Furthermore, the excessive use of smartphones can interfere with sleep, which is crucial for mental health.

Social media platforms, while enabling us to connect with others and share experiences, can also contribute to feelings of inadequacy and low self-esteem. The tendency to compare oneself with others and the desire for validation through likes and comments can lead to a distorted self-image and feelings of worthlessness. Moreover, studies have shown a correlation between heavy social media use and depression, anxiety, loneliness, and suicidal ideation. The platforms are designed to be addictive, using algorithms that feed users content based on their preferences and interactions, keeping them engaged for longer periods. The business model of social media platforms, which involves collecting and selling user data for targeted advertising, further exacerbates these issues. The constant barrage of personalized ads can lead to overconsumption and financial stress, and the invasion of privacy can contribute to feelings of paranoia and mistrust.

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