Young teens risk mental health harm after one year of social media use

Children aged 12 to 13 are the most at risk of mental health issues from heavy use of social media and show a worrying decline in their psychological wellbeing after just one year.

These are the findings of a landmark decade-long study, led by the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and published in the Medical Journal of Australia, which examined the behaviour and mental health of almost 1200 Melbourne children.

The researchers found that during the ages of 12 to 13, the dangers of using social media for two hours or more a day rose sharply, particularly among girls.

They found that for every 100 girls of this age group who were using social media for at least two hours daily, there were about 11 additional cases of high depressive symptoms and poorer wellbeing detected a year down the track, when compared with peers who used it for less than an hour a day.

Dr Nandi Vijayakumar, a cognitive neuroscientist at Deakin University and a lead researcher of the study, said the risk peaked during early adolescence for several reasons including the onset of puberty and the beginning of a time when girls become increasingly sensitive to peer approval and exclusion.

“This is when young people first start using social media, typically, and learning how to navigate online interactions, but it is also a period of rapid brain development and important social changes,” Vijayakumar said.

She said parts of the brain responsible for emotion regulation were also still maturing, meaning adolescents might be less equipped to manage the more challenging aspects of social media, such as social comparisons and bullying.

“While the effects were modest at the individual level because this is so common among adolescents, even modest increases in risk could translate into potentially meaningful impacts at the population level,” Vijayakumar said.

While the findings are concerning for parents, researchers say the study also identified a critical age window for intervention.

Melbourne teenager Lauren Linton was 12 when the city was plunged into coronavirus lockdowns, sending her online use soaring. She was left communicating with her friends via social media including through app Snapchat. It was tough and fuelled her anxiety.

“I remember there being quite a bit of bullying and drama, and some of the girls would make group chats and leave the other girls out,” Linton said.

“You’re so young at the time. You really don’t understand the huge impact leaving somebody out like that can have on someone at an age when all you really want to do is fit in.”

Linton and her friend K