Children who use social media for more than three hours per day are more likely to develop greater levels of depression and anxiety compared to those who use it more moderately.
The findings are the latest analysis to come from the SCAMP study, led by public health researchers at Imperial College London and based on data from more than 2300 children in schools across London.
They show that children in Year 7 (aged 11-12) who used social media sites for more than three hours per day were more likely to have developed symptoms of depression and anxiety by the time they reached Year 9 and Year 10 (aged 13-15), with girls having a stronger link between their usage and depression compared to boys.
The research shows the effects are mainly driven by disruptions to sleep – with greater social media use, especially into the evenings, reducing children’s amount of sleep which, in turn, results in lasting impacts on their mental health.
According to the team, their analysis suggests that while social media use by itself may not necessarily be causing harms, there is a pattern linked with excess use. The researchers say that promoting moderate use and better sleep hygiene could help to achieve a better life balance and reduce the potential mental health impacts.