More Children Are Depressed and Anxious. Is Social Media Really Behind It?

Lawmakers have proposed restrictions, but some scientists say it is hard to tell if they will help

By Nidhi Subbaraman of The WSJ. Excerpts:

"No one really knows how significant of a role social media plays in youths’ emotional state."

"it is unclear to what extent social-media use is contributing to the trend

"mental health is influenced by many factors, and no single treatment works for every person"

"Young people benefit from digital tools and making vital connections outside their ZIP Code, Marwick said." [Alice Marwick, director of research at Data & Society, an independent nonprofit research institute]

"Broad restrictions on social-media use—such as cutting off access until a certain age—aren’t supported by existing research, according to a report released in December by a panel of experts assembled by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. While children and teens may benefit from connections, the report also pointed to risks of disrupted sleep and attention, and aggravated body-image issues. But the panel said that the link needed more study, more money and better data access from companies."

"Among the reasons that make it difficult to isolate the role of social media in kids’ mental health is that the relationship between mental health and tech use is a two-way street, the panel from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine said. A person’s mental state might influence how he or she uses the platform, which in turn affects his or her state of mind. 

Randomized, controlled studies on whether social media caused the mental-health crisis are impractical because exposure to social media is now everywhere, researchers say. In addition, platforms are constantly changing their features, hobbling efforts to run long-term studies, they say.

Research into the roots of distress in young people has found that other factors—bullying, or lack of family support—have stronger associations with mental-health outcomes, compared with social-media use."