‘Little evidence’ social media or gaming is to blame for teenage mental health problems
Social media or video games are unlikely to cause mental health problems in young adolescents, a new study has suggested.
New research published from the University of Manchester Journal of Public Healthdiscusses the concerns common among parents and teachers today about the impact of the digital world on young people.
Researchers followed 25,000 young people ages 11 to 14 over three school years as part of the #BeeWell program, which focuses on understanding and improving youth well-being.
Students self-reported their social media habits, gaming frequency, and emotional difficulties over three school years. From this, the researchers concluded that there was no evidence that heavier social media use or more frequent gaming caused increased symptoms of anxiety or depression in boys or girls the following year.
Co-author Professor Neil Humphrey said: “Our findings show us that young people’s choices around social media and gaming may be shaped by how they feel, but not the other way around.
“Instead of blaming the technology itself, we need to pay attention to what young people are doing online, who they are connecting with and how supported they feel in their daily lives.”
The lead author of the study, Dr. Qiqi Cheng added: “We know families are concerned, but our results do not support the idea that spending time on social media or gaming causes mental health problems; the story is much more complex than that.”
However, girls who gamed more frequently went on to spend slightly less time on social media the following year, and boys who reported experiencing more emotional difficulties were more likely to reduce their gaming in the future. Researchers suggest this may be linked to losing interest in hobbies when you’re feeling down, or to parents limiting screen time when they notice their children are struggling.
The research team also investigated whether actively chatting on social media or just passively scrolling made a difference, but the overall picture remained the same; technology habits alone did not appear to cause mental health problems.
The authors emphasized that this does not mean that online experiences are harmless: hurtful messages, online pressures and extreme content can still have real effects on well-being. They argued that focusing solely on screen time misses the bigger picture.
