Social media time does not increase teenagers’ mental health problems – study

University of Manchester researchers tracked 25,000 teenagers over three school years. Photograph: Hollie Adams/Reuters

Screen time spent gaming or on social media does not cause mental health problems in teenagers, according to a large-scale study.

With ministers in the UK considering whether to follow Australia’s example by banning social media use for under-16s, the findings challenge concerns that long periods spent gaming or scrolling TikTok or Instagram are driving an increase in teenagers’ depression, anxiety and other mental health conditions.