Social media ‘not safe for teenagers’, new report warns
Social media platforms are “unsafe” for young people and harm them on a “massive scale”, a new report has suggested.
It said the current “algorithmic” design of platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and X made them “dangerous consumer products” and suggested the platforms were significantly contributing to recorded increases in mental illness.
The World Happiness Report, released Thursday, examines data on happiness and social trends from around the world. In the report, academics from New York University (NYU) said there was now “overwhelming evidence” of “serious and widespread direct harms” such as sexual blackmail and cyberbullying. They also added that there was “convincing evidence of problematic indirect harms” such as depression and anxiety.
This comes as the UK government is weighing a social media ban on under-16s. Earlier this month, MPs rejected a vote for a blanket ban in favor of a proposal for the government to give ministers additional, more flexible powers, depending on the outcome of ongoing consultations.
Previous studies have found no clear association between social media use and increased mental health problems in young people. But research suggests that “addictive” features in apps can disrupt young people’s sleep and mood.
In the paper, “Social media harms adolescents on a scale large enough to cause population-level changes,” academics analyzed data from seven different studies around the world using different methods to examine the links between harm and social media.
Drawing on existing research, including anecdotal and data-driven studies as well as internal reports leaked from the platforms, they argue that the data suggest that the rapid adoption of social media by adolescents in the early 2010s was a significant contributor to the “population-level increases” in mental illness that emerged in many Western countries by the mid-2010s.
“Combining all seven lines of evidence reveals consistent and converging evidence that major social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and X, as currently designed and widely used, are dangerous consumer products that harm adolescents on a massive scale,” the authors wrote.
In the second paper published as part of the report, researchers suggest that the way social media platforms are designed has a significant impact on users’ happiness. They said social media platforms that emphasize communication are better at promoting happiness than those with “algorithmic content.”
This was revealed when jurors in a landmark social media addiction case in the US made deliberate decisions. The plaintiff in the case, identified in the documents as KGM, or Kaley as her lawyers called her during the hearing, says her use of social media at an early age made her addicted to technology and increased her depression and suicidal thoughts.
The case, along with two others, has been named a leading case, meaning its outcome could affect how thousands of similar lawsuits against social media companies play out.
Meta, Snapchat, TikTok and X have been contacted for comment.
