Psychiatric News (5/5) reports a study found that while “youth with mental illness spend significantly more time on social media than those without,” only youth “with internalizing conditions such as depression or anxiety disorders were more likely to feel a lack of control about their social media use or engage in other unhealthy online behaviors.” Researchers observed that “youth who had a mental illness spent significantly more time on social media weekly than those without (average 2.8 hours versus 1.9 hours, respectively) and were also less satisfied on average with their number of online friends.” Furthermore, youth with an internalizing condition “spent more time online (around three hours weekly) and were less happy about their online friend count.” They also “engaged more frequently in online social comparisons, were more likely to say that social media feedback (e.g., number of likes) impacted their mood, and were more likely to feel lack of control about their time spent online.” The study was published in Nature Human Behavior.
Related Links:
— “Youth With Internalizing Conditions Spend More Time on Social Media, Feel Lack of Control Online,” Psychiatric News, May 5, 2025