New data: Teens say social media is bad (just not for them)

What do teens and their parents think about social media?

Welcome to Techno Sapiens! I’m Jacqueline Nesi, a psychologist and professor at Brown University and mom of two young kids. If you like Techno Sapiens, please consider sharing it with a friend today. Thanks for your support!

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6 min

Techno sapiens, you know I *love* a nationally-representative survey and, relatedly, have long harbored a major nerd crush on the Pew Research Center.

In a new report out last week, Pew surveyed teens and their parents about their views on social media and mental health—and let me tell you, they’ve outdone themselves with this one.

The report is also special because I was asked to serve on the Advisory Board, which, given the aforementioned nerd crush, was very exciting. I’d always imagined Pew researchers to be some kind of science superhumans¹—and I am happy to report that after meeting my heroes, they are, in fact, normal humans, but also exactly as smart and rigorous (and kind) as I expected.

Anyway, I’ve been on the edge of my seat waiting to share these results with all of you, and now it’s finally time.²

Let’s get to it!

[Note: as always, all opinions and analysis are mine alone].

What are we looking at here?

• Researchers conducted an online survey in September and October 2024

• 1,391 U.S. teens (ages 13 to 17) and one of their parents filled it out

• The sample was nationally representative, meaning it generally reflects the U.S. population on things like sex, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, etc.

• Some of the same questions were asked in 2022 and 2023, so we can look at trends

What did they find?

Here are some of the most interesting findings (in my mind), and my take on each.

1. Teens’ views of social media harms

• 48% of teens say that social media has a “mostly negative” impact on people their age, up from 32% in 2022.

• When it comes to themselves, personally, teens are much less likely to cite negative impacts: only 14% say social media has a mostly negative impact on them (still up from 2022, when this number was 9%).

My take: This is fascinating to me! It’s not uncommon to see teens (and adults!) say that a certain behavior impacts others more negatively than it impacts them (yes, sure, other people should drive the speed limit, but *I* would never get in an accident).³ My question is: why has the number of teens who say social media is bad for their peers gone up over time, more than the number who says it’s actually bad for them, personally? I can think of at least two possibilities:

1. Maybe social media really is getting worse for teens, due to changes in the platforms and ways it’s used. If so, teens are likely to see that reflected in their friends.

2. Maybe this is about the messages teens are getting, which—I believe—have gotten more negative over time. Teens are being told social media harms people their age, so they’re more likely to report that it does, even if they don’t see it in themselves, personally.

Either way, teens’ concern about the effects of social media on their peers may be a good angle for media literacy efforts. Teens may be more likely to buy-in to efforts to help their peers (versus themselves) avoid online harms and use social media in healthier ways.

2. Parents and teens’ concerns about mental health

• 55% of parents are “extremely or very” concerned about the mental health of teens these days, compared to 35% of teens who feel the same.

• Among parents who are concerned, nearly half (44%) cite social media as the “one thing that has the most negative impact” on mental health (over things like bullying, pressures and expectations, and the state of society).

• Teens also cite social media as a number one cause (22%), but they’re less likely to do so than parents.

My take: Though the numbers are lower for teens than their parents, there’s still a lot of concern about teens’ mental health, and social media is cited as the factor that has the most negative impact. Social media pervades nearly all aspects of teens’ lives, so it makes sense that this would feel like a very visible, obvious precursor to mental health (both positive and negative).

When I see stats like this, though, I worry that parents and teens are forgetting about the many other factors that influence mental health. Mental illness results from a complex combination of biology and environment—from genetics to personality to family and peer relationships. When we reduce it to oversimplified explanations (social media), we end up with oversimplified solutions (ban social media) that ignore other important factors.

3. Mental health information on social media

• 34% of teens say they get mental health information from social media.

• This is higher among girls (40%) and Black teens (49%).

• Among teens who get mental health information on social media, 63% say it’s an “important” way to get that information (though for the majority, not the most important way).

My take: These numbers are a bit lower than I would have expected, maybe due to teens’ interpretation of the phrase “information about mental health” (i.e., is an influencer providing tips to manage stress ‘mental health information’?) It’s also a bit hard to parse these stats without knowing the mental health histories of these teens—teens with mental illness are generally more likely to see this type of information online.

Either way, getting such information on social media can be both a good and bad thing. The good: teens can learn about mental health, find needed resources, and feel less alone. The bad: misinformation is common, as is mental health content that glamorizes, normalizes, or otherwise portrays mental illness in a less-than-helpful way.

4. Teens cite some benefits of social media, but these have decreased over time

• The majority of teens report benefits of social media, like feeling more connected to their friends, having a place to show their creative side, and having people to support them through tough times.

• But these numbers have gone down since 2022.

My take: It’s always a bit difficult to interpret questions about teens’ perspectives on the benefits and harms of social media. The reason? There’s no real point of comparison. As adults, we know a world before social media, so if we say that social media allows us to be “more connected to our friends,” we’re implicitly comparing this experience to the before times.

For teens, it’s not clear. Are these ratings compared to their own experience before they got social media? Compared to a hypothetical reality with no social media? Compared to other activities that allow for social connection? We (and, probably, they) are not quite sure.

I’m also curious why these numbers have gone down. Could it be that the type of social media platforms teens are using have changed? With short-form video increasingly popular (i.e., TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels), maybe they’re doing less forging connections, and more passive scrolling or viewing?

5. Teens see problems with social media

• When asked whether social media helps, hurts, or makes no difference in specific areas of their lives, 19% of teens say it hurts their mental health (10% say it helps, and 50% say it makes no difference).

• Also notable: 40% of teens say social media hurts their productivity, and 45% that it hurts their sleep!

• This is likely related to the increase in the number of teens who say they spend too much time on social media: up to 45% from 27% in 2023 and 36% in 2022.

My take: It is important that nearly 1 in 5 teens say social media hurts their mental health. Even if fewer teens say social media negatively impacts them, versus their peers (see #1), any activity that has 19% of teens saying it hurts their mental health is worth understanding better! I would also love to see a survey that compares this percentage to other widespread aspects of teens’ lives (i.e., how many teens say that things like school, neighborhood, or family helps or hurts?)

It’s also worth zooming in on the stats around time spent. Almost half of teens think social media hurts their sleep!⁴ The same number say they spend too much time on the platforms, and nearly as many say it makes them less productive.

These are other areas to consider for media literacy. We’ll get buy-in from teens when we address the areas that feel impactful for them: impacts on their peers, and building healthier habits around time spent and sleep, would be good places to start.

Full report: Faverio, Anderson, & Park (2025). Teens, social media, and mental health. Pew Research Center.

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1. I’ve been following Pew’s work since I was a baby (i.e., a graduate student). In fact, I remember at one point citing an early report on the number of teens who have blogs (!). And now I have a blog! And I’m writing about Pew’s research on here! The circle of life, am I right?

2. I’m finishing up this post at the end of a weekend that involved the following activities: an Earth Day celebration where my children climbed into large trucks and repeatedly honked the horns (unclear how this benefits the earth); multiple trips to the playground; a special “Day Out with Thomas” (as in, the Tank Engine) with a train ride, miniature petting zoo, and carnival; and an hour-long search for one, specific book about Thomas the Tank Engine (I found it, and then my kids no longer wanted to read it). When I asked my three-year-old his favorite part of the weekend tonight, he replied by asking “What did we have for dinner?” and then “the pasta was my favorite.” This is all unrelated to the content of this post apart from to say: sapiens, please forgive typos because I am tired.

3. This line of thinking in adolescence actually has a name: the personal fable. This is the common belief among teens that they are unique and invincible. Although they may know an activity is risky for others, they’re unlikely to believe that they, themselves, will face negative consequences. And guess what? Some research suggests the personal fable often extends into adulthood, so we are not immune! This must be the reason I decided “Day Out with Thomas” (see #2) was a good idea.

4. This is your regular reminder (relevant for sapiens of all ages) to charge your phone away from your bed at night! There are few things I say definitively (you may have gathered I’m more of a everyone-is-different-so-find-what-works-for-you type), but this is one of them. This is one of the easiest, most effective steps you can take to have a healthier relationship with your phone. And research backs it up!