Teens who spend more than 2 hours a day on social media face higher risk of depression, study finds

Teenagers who spend more than two hours a day on social media are at greater risk of experiencing depressive symptoms and lower life satisfaction a year later than peers who use it less, a new study has found.

A research team led by Dr. Nandi Vijayakumar of the Murdoch Children's Research Institute in Australia published the findings Friday in the Medical Journal of Australia. The team tracked more than 1,200 adolescents in Melbourne over 10 years and found that heavy social media use during adolescence was associated with a modest increase in future mental health problems.

The researchers drew on data from the Child to Adult Transition Study, a prospective longitudinal study, surveying 1,329 Melbourne adolescents annually from 2012.

The study assessed the link between daily social media use reported by participants between the ages of 12 and 18, and their levels of depressive symptoms, anxiety and well-being — measured as life satisfaction — between the ages of 13 and 19.

Adolescents who used social media for more than two hours a day showed a greater risk of reporting elevated depressive symptoms at the next annual survey compared with those who used it for less than one hour a day.

The research team noted that the increase in risk was modest — roughly five additional cases per 100 adolescents — but was statistically significant.

The risk of depressive symptoms and lower well-being was particularly pronounced among girls aged 12 to 13, compared with other age groups. Anxiety symptoms, by contrast, remained minimal across adolescence as a whole.

Co-researcher Professor Susan Sawyer said the findings "do not mean that social media is harmful for all adolescents, but they do show that some negative effects are possible," adding that the results "support the importance of age-appropriate usage limits, digital literacy education and parental guidance."

She also noted that many adolescents have positive experiences on social media, gaining a sense of social belonging and opportunities for self-expression. The study, she said, points to the need for preventive interventions and policy measures aimed at reducing negative effects — particularly among younger adolescents — rather than an outright ban.

Dr. Vijayakumar said early adolescence is "a period when the association between levels of social media use and increased risk of mental health problems a year later is most pronounced." While the increase in risk is not large, she said, "it has public health significance given how many adolescents use social media."

Meanwhile, a number of countries have already moved to introduce policies governing adolescents' use of social media.

Malaysia began enforcing online safety regulations this month that require social media platforms to block accounts for users under 16. The rules also mandate age verification measures. Platforms with at least 8 million users — including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok — must implement identity-based age checks and prevent users under 16 from registering accounts. The regulations do not amount to a complete ban on minors' internet use.

Malaysia's Communications and Multimedia Commission plans to give platforms a grace period of up to six months to put the required age verification measures in place.

Australia became the first country in the world to ban minors from social media outright — regardless of parental consent — with a law that took effect in December last year. Under the legislation, major platforms that fail to take adequate steps to block accounts for Australian users under 16 can face fines of up to A$49.5 million (about $35.4 million).

Indonesia introduced a similar set of measures in March. In Europe, the United Kingdom, France and around 10 other countries are also considering or pursuing comparable regimes, as are several other nations worldwide.