A collective review on some potential negative impacts of smartphone and social media use on adolescent mental health: Results from a Delphi process
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The literature on how smartphone and social media use affects adolescent mental health is highly fragmented. To synthesize the evidence, we convened over 120 researchers with diverse perspectives to evaluate 26 commonly cited claims using a Delphi process. A large majority agree that: Adolescent mental health has declined in several Western countries; heavy smartphone and social media use can cause sleep problems; such use correlates with attention problems and behavioural addiction; among girls, social media use may be associated with body dissatisfaction, perfectionism, exposure to mental disorders, harassment and predation. Most other claims were judged to have insufficient evidence due to limited, inconsistent, or non-causal data. Researchers also raised broader concerns, including challenges in measuring mental health and establishing causality, geographic bias in existing evidence, and the need for policies that account for diverse risks and avoid unintended harms. This collective review offers a foundation for future research and policy.
