Nearly 50% of Teens Think Social Media Is Bad for Them. What Now?

Many teens know social media isn’t good for them. According to a new report published by Pew Research Center, nearly half of teens believe social media has a mostly negative effect on their age group, though only 14 percent believe it negatively affects them personally.

The former figure is still alarming, though, as the 48 percent of teens who think social media is bad for them is up from 32 percent back in 2022.

Girls largely have a worse experience than boys online, with 25 percent saying social media hurts their mental health, 20 percent believing it affects their confidence, and 50 percent recognizing its negative impact on their sleep.

Since nearly half of teens think social media is bad for them, it makes sense that about the same amount, 45 percent, believe they spend too much time online. That’s up from 36 percent in 2022.

Teens Can’t Stop Using Social Media, Even Though 48% Say It’s Bad for Them

As worried as teens are about their mental health, their parents are even more so. In fact, 55 percent of parents reported that they’re extremely or very concerned about the mental health of teens today.

In terms of what drives teens’ negative mental health, 44 percent of parents put the onus on social media. Twenty-two percent agreed with their parents’ conclusion.

“Social media is a big part of teens’ lives nowadays, and they are always trying to live up to the expectations of all the friends on their pages,” a father said in the study.

A teen boy agreed, stating, “The overuse of social media in our society seems to be the main cause of depression among those in my age group. People seem to let themselves be affected by the opinions of people they don’t know, and it wreaks havoc upon people’s states of mind.”

When it comes to discussing mental health, 80 percent of parents said they’re comfortable doing so. Fifty-two percent of teens concurred.

Not All Social Media Is Bad

However, with all the bad of social media, there’s good too. Seventy-four percent of teens said that social media makes them feel more connected to their peers.

Additionally, 63 percent said online sites allow them to show off their creativity. Some also use social media as a mental health resource, with 34 percent of teens finding information online.