The truth about tweens and screens

How much can we really blame social media for mental health problems in kids?

A boy with a phone.
(Image credit: Illustrated | djedzura/iStock, Juksy/iStock)

We're in the middle of a mental health crisis, and it's hitting the younger generation hard. First, the stats: Worldwide, 10 to 20 percent of children and adolescents experience mental disorders. Depression is one of the leading causes of illness and disability among adolescents, and suicide is the third leading cause of death in 15- to 19-year-olds.

Mental illness is complex, with many potential biological, psychological, and environmental factors. In an ideal world, we'd be able to point to one thing — like screen time or social media use — and say, "that's the problem, right there." We don't live in an ideal world, but that's pretty much what's been happening, particularly when it comes to adolescent mental health. A 2011 paper published by the American Academy of Pediatrics warned doctors about "Facebook depression" (defined as "depression that develops when preteens and teens spend a great deal of time on social media sites, such as Facebook, and then begin to exhibit classic symptoms of depression"), and it basically snowballed from there.

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Claire Gillespie

Claire Gillespie is a freelance writer with bylines on Health, SELF, Refinery29, Glamour, The Washington Post, and many more. She likes to write about parenting, health, and culture. She lives in Scotland with her husband and six kids, where she uses every (rare) spare moment to work on her novel.