Social media may affect girls’ mental health earlier than boys’, study finds

The study does not prove that social media harms wellbeing, but the researchers suspect there may be ‘windows of vulnerability’. Photograph: Sonia Bonet/Alamy

Social media may affect the wellbeing of girls and boys at different ages, according to research that raises the prospect of windows of vulnerability in adolescence.

Psychologists found that girls who increased their time on social media between the ages of 11 and 13 were less satisfied with their lives one year later, with the same trend playing out in boys aged 14 to 15.