Report for US Department of Commerce National Telecommunications and Information Administration

In this policy report we highlight that social media’s effects on youth mental health are individualised and context-dependent, challenging oversimplified approaches that focus solely on reducing screen time. The report references the “digital diet” framework, recognising that the nature of the digital experiences are more important than the amount consumed alone. We also highlight critical research limitations following from restricted access to social media data and call for legislative intervention to enable independent research, nuanced age-appropriate regulations, and adaptive policies that treat digital governance as an evolving process requiring regular scrutiny rather than one-time interventions.

Key Findings

1. There is a severe shortage of high-quality evidence to answer questions about the relationship between social media use and mental health. Nonetheless, insufficient evidence does not mean we must assume no effect, nor wait to act.
2. In an area with an incomplete evidence base, it is important to consider unintended, indirect consequences of policy interventions. For example, blanket bans on screens or social media could convey to children that there is a generational gap in understanding their online worlds, which could exacerbate the communicative distance between them and authority figures. It could also harm those for whom social media enables or encourages positive activities.
3. Research into the effects of new digital media struggles to keep up with the fast-paced technology industry and is behind on the evidence when wanting to define policy responses. This situation can be remedied by prospective funding, mixed methods research including qualitative interviewing, and a conceptualisation of policies as part of a continually adaptable process which warrants regular scrutiny, rather than one-off interventions.
4. The dire need for evidence to inform sensible policies surrounding digital media and mental health calls upon both policymakers and researchers. Policymakers need to facilitate researchers’ ability to access rich social media data to keep up with the pace of innovation in the digital space. In turn, researchers must utilise innovative approaches to targeting mechanisms and providing actionable insights into the relationship between social media and mental health.