Behind the screen: Social media use and internalizing problems in adolescents

Increased social media use among adolescents raises concerns about its potential link to depression and anxiety, although findings remain mixed.

This longitudinal study examined associations between time spent on social media and problematic use with internalizing problems in adolescents over time, considering sex differences.

Data from 866 adolescents participating in the iBerry Study, an oversampled cohort at elevated risk of psychopathology, were used. Participants were assessed at ages 15 and 18, reported daily social media time and completed the Compulsive Internet Use Scale. Internalizing problems were assessed with the Youth Self-Report. Regression models were adjusted for individual and socio-demographic confounders.

Average daily social media increased from 3.77 hours at age 15 to 6.07 hours at age 18. Time spent on social media showed no main association with internalizing problems at either age. Problematic social media use was consistently associated with more internalizing problems cross-sectionally, especially in girls, and with greater odds of depressive symptoms at age 15. Longitudinally, problematic use showed a small statistically significant association with internalizing problems, driven primarily by associations observed in girls.

Problematic social media use showed more consistent associations with internalizing problems than overall time spent on social media. However, most observed effects were small and of limited practical relevance. These findings support cautious interpretation of associations between social media use and adolescent internalizing problems and highlight the importance of distinguishing problematic use from time spent online.