A recent Pew Research Center survey showed that many U.S. teens are using social media platforms at high rates, or “almost constantly,” despite growing concerns about the negative effects on their mental health.
The survey, published by Pew Research Center on Dec. 11, found that nearly half of the 1,453 U.S. teens surveyed—who were between the ages of 13 and 17—used certain social media sites almost constantly.
“This is on par with what we found last year, but roughly double the 24 percent who said this in the 2014–2015 survey,” the researchers stated, adding that overall, more than 9 in 10 say they use the internet at least daily.
The survey also found that over 90 percent of U.S. teens use YouTube, making it the most widely used platform, followed by TikTok (63 percent), Snapchat (60 percent), and Instagram (59 percent).
About 7 in 10 teens said they visit YouTube daily, while 58 percent of teens said they are daily users of TikTok. About half of the surveyed teens use Snapchat and Instagram daily.
‘Inappropriate, Harmful Content’ on Social Media
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy previously issued an advisory expressing concerns about the potential impact of social media on the mental health of children and adolescents.
He said that children and adolescents are “commonly exposed to extreme, inappropriate, and harmful content” on social media, and those who spend more than three hours a day on social media “face double the risk of poor mental health including experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety.”
According to him, social media may perpetuate body dissatisfaction, disordered eating behaviors, social comparison, and low self-esteem, especially among adolescent girls. Some social media platforms display content related to suicide and self-harm.
Studies have also shown a relationship between “excessive social media use and poor sleep quality, reduced sleep duration, sleep difficulties, and depression among youth.”
“There is broad concern among the scientific community that a lack of access to data and lack of transparency from technology companies have been barriers to understanding the full scope and scale of the impact of social media on child and adolescent mental health and well-being,” Mr. Murthy added.
Ofcom said under the code, the largest platforms will be required by default to ensure children on their sites are not presented with lists of suggested friends, do not appear in other users’ lists, that their location information is not visible to other users, and that people outside their agreed connections cannot directly message them.
The online safety regulator is set to publish further codes in the coming months on other areas of online safety, such as guidance for adult sites on keeping children away and on protecting children from harmful content promoting things such as suicide or self-harm.
Each of the draft codes will have a consultation period before requiring final approval from Parliament. The regulator’s own timetable says it hopes to begin enforcing its first codes of practice by the end of 2024.
