Social media platforms are “not safe” for teens and are harming them at a “massive scale”, a new report has suggested.
It said the current “algorithmic” design of platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and X, make them “dangerous consumer products” and suggest the platforms have substantially contributed to recorded increases in mental illness.
The World Happiness Report, published on Thursday, examines data on happiness and social trends from across the world. In the report, academics from New York University (NYU) said there is now “overwhelming evidence” of “severe and widespread direct harms” such as sextortion and cyberbullying. They added there is also “compelling evidence of troubling indirect harms” such as depression and anxiety.
It comes as the UK government weighs up a social media ban for under-16s. Earlier this month, MPs rejected a vote for a blanket ban in favour of a government bid to give additional, more flexible powers to ministers depending on the outcome of its ongoing consultation.
Previous studies have not found a clear correlation between social media use in teenagers and a rise in mental health problems. However, research has suggested “addictive” features on apps can disrupt sleep and mood in young people.
In the paper titled “Social media is harming adolescents at a scale large enough to cause changes at the population level”, academics analysed data from seven different studies across the world using different methods to examine links between harm and social media.
Drawing on existing research including anecdotal and data-driven studies, as well as leaked internal reports from platforms, they argue the data suggests the rapid adoption of social media by adolescents in the early 2010s was a substantial contributor to “population-level increases” in mental illness that emerged by the mid 2010s in many Western nations.
“Combining all seven lines of evidence reveals consistent and converging evidence that the major social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and X, as they are currently designed and commonly used, are dangerous consumer products that harm adolescents at a massive scale,” the authors wrote.
In a second paper released as part of the report, researchers argue the way social media platforms are designed has a significant impact on user’s happiness. They said social media platforms that emphasise communication are better at supporting happiness than those with “algorithmic content”.
It comes as jurors deliberate verdicts in a landmark social media addiction trial in the US. The plaintiff in the case, identified as KGM in documents or Kaley, as her lawyers have called her during the trial, says her early use of social media addicted her to the technology and exacerbated depression and suicidal thoughts.
The case, along with two others, has been selected as a bellwether trial, meaning its outcome could impact how thousands of similar lawsuits against social media companies are likely to play out.
Meta, Snapchat, TikTok, and X, have been contacted for comment.
