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How Does Social Media Affect Young People's Mental Health?

cybersmile how does social media affect young peoples mental health
Dr. Michelle O'Reilly
Published

Professor of Communication in Mental Health Dr Michelle O’Reilly explores the impact of social media on young people's mental health.

The relationship between social media and adolescent mental health is complex and depends on many different factors (O'Reilly et al., 2021a), with a recent review showing that impact can be both positive and negative for young people (Khalaf et al., 2023).

Research in this area is still developing, but it shows that the important concern is how young people use their devices, how they engage with social media and the nature of the content they interact with that is critical, more so than how many hours they spend on their screens (Orben, 2020).

For some young people, engaging with social media can make low mood or anxiety worse, and it can lower self-esteem (Prasad et al., 2023). But at the same time, these platforms can create a sense of belonging, reduce stress, and give them an outlet for pressures they may be experiencing in their life (Bayram and Barut, 2023; O'Reilly et al., 2018a).

Negative content and negative use

Part of the difficulty is that young people are often exposed to negative content in these online spaces without wanting to engage with it because of the way algorithms are set up and because of the ways in which peer groups share material (see Franco and Boniel-Nissim, 2024; Graham, 2024; The Cybersmile Foundation, 2026; Winstone et al., 2023). Indeed, a recent report described this as young people being force-fed online content (The Cybersmile Foundation, 2026). This means they are likely to encounter upsetting material they do not want to see, which can impact their sense of wellbeing in more harmful ways – but not necessarily do lasting damage, as that depends on many factors. Thus, it is essential that young people are empowered to have more control over their social media, over what they see, and over how they interact on these platforms. It is also important that they are supported with a digital education to ensure digital literacy, critical skills to appraise the veracity of online information, and the ability to use tools to protect themselves online.

The skills children acquire and the role of different systems in protecting young people are all important in the relationship between mental health and social media as these relate to risk and protective factors.

One area of specific concern in terms of risk is cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is a significant issue. Bullying has long been a problem in schools, but social media has become a particularly pervasive way for it to happen (Zhang et al., 2022). My own research with adolescents (O'Reilly, 2020; O'Reilly et al., 2021b) and primary school children (O'Reilly et al., 2024; O'Reilly et al., 2026) showed that all children of all ages reported seeing or experiencing incidences of cyberbullying and felt that this significantly impacted wellbeing. Additionally, participants described seeing things online that they found upsetting and had not searched for.

Supporting mental health

Experiencing negative aspects of social media can be problematic for mental health. This mental health impact might be short-lived and minor for some young people, who are able to cope and move forward. For others, the impact might be more sustained and more severe. It is therefore important that young people have some tools to reduce the impact of any negative interaction or content and can find beneficial ways of coping. The promotion of mental health, then, needs to be a blend of online and offline mechanisms. In the physical place there are ways to support good mental health.

There are traditional ways to maintain mental wellness, including a healthy diet, spending time outside in the fresh air in green spaces, simple mindfulness techniques, ensuring a strong sleep routine, and engaging in talk about emotions with supportive others. It is strongly accepted that these are essential for positive mental health, and spending some time disconnected from screens can be beneficial to nurture that.

In the digital space, we have argued that there are ways in which young people themselves, especially when supported by families and schools, can promote their positive wellbeing and reduce the impact of digital harm through a digital ethics of care framework (O'Reilly et al., 2021b). A digital ethics of care refers to young people being empathic and kind in their online interactions, having some responsibility for what they post, and being respectful to others. This framework is particularly aligned with how young people treat each other through social media and other forms of digital interaction.

While young people do need to be aware of their own conduct, it is essential that the wider systems and structures around them are operating in ways that promote mental health, encourage resilience and support them when they do encounter something negative online. Systems like family, peers, and school support are pertinent to their resilience, and the broader structures like political landscapes and technology company models of operation create an environment that shapes young people's coping (Theron et al., 2022).

Parents and schools play a critical role in supporting children and young people and in educating them about the risks that may present in digital contexts as well as ways to minimise harms. Some young people have strong networks in place that can help protect their wellbeing, while others do not, and some young people have greater levels of adversity than others. This means that some children are more vulnerable to developing mental health problems than others, and social media can contribute to that. Understanding the wider context is key if we want to make the most of digital opportunities and minimise digital harms (see Livingstone et al., 2017).

Conclusion

In conclusion, therefore, children and young people's mental health is everybody's responsibility, and this is especially the case when ensuring that their engagement with social media is not harmful (O'Reilly et al., 2018b). Young people and their families can take steps to support positive wellbeing while being engaged online, but wider systems like governments and technology companies also have a role to play. The commercial model of technology companies can be at odds with the protection of children and young people (Graham, 2024), and yet supporting safety and mental health can and should be a central endeavour in their core business.

References

Portrait of Michelle O'Reilly

Dr. Michelle O'Reilly

Dr Michelle O’Reilly is Associate Professor of Communication in Mental Health at the University of Leicester and a Research Consultant and Quality Improvement Advisor with Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust. She is a Chartered Psychologist in Health (CPsychol, AFBPsS).