The Longitudinal Effects of Social Media on Sleep Among Youth: A Scoping Review

Social media has become an integral part of our everyday lives, with nearly 5 billion users worldwide. Its ubiquity has sparked concerns about the potential effects on sleep, particularly among young people. Previous research has generally shown that greater social media engagement is associated with poorer sleep outcomes, such as later bedtimes and longer sleep onset latency. However, most evidence is cross-sectional, limiting causal claims. This scoping review synthesises longitudinal studies published in the last five years examining the impact of social media use on subsequent sleep in young people. In accordance with cross-sectional findings, the majority of studies (~70%) provide at least some evidence of a negative impact of social media use on bedtime and sleep onset latency, particularly in relation to problematic social media use, including at bedtime. These findings inform professional recommendations, including strategies to reduce problematic use to improve sleep outcomes in youth. Yet implementation may be challenging, as adolescents often resist device restrictions and family contexts vary widely, highlighting the need for flexible approaches. Methodological limitations of the reviewed studies further constrain conclusions. Many studies rely on self-reports and non-validated measures of both social media use and sleep. Future studies should employ validated measures and move beyond frequency-based metrics of social media to explore how content, patterns of problematic use, and the timing of social media use influence sleep longitudinally. Studies must also address the complexity of this relationship and consider bidirectional pathways and interactions with other key variables such as neurodiversity, socioeconomic status and mental health.