Bitefile social media and wellbeing

7 tips to help young people use social media in a healthy way

Young people are spending more and more time on Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, TikTok and WhatsApp. The use of social media can affect their physical, mental, and social well-being. However, this impact is not the same for all adolescents. Which personal personal characteristics or environmental factors enhance or diminish those effects?

Commissioned by the Dutch Media Literacy Network and in collaboration with the Digitalization and Wellbeing Expert Center of the Trimbos Institute, Bitescience analyzed the most recent and relevant research among young people on this topic. Based on this research, we also provide seven tips to help young people use social media in a healthier way.

The good and the bad of social media

The research reviewed shows that there are both positive and negative relationships between social media use and youth well-being. Social media offer many opportunities for young people to make connections, deepen relationships, find support from others, and develop an identity. This can contribute to higher self-esteem, a more positive self-image, stronger social skills, less loneliness and greater life satisfaction.

However, social media use can also be associated with anxiety, depression and lower life satisfaction. In addition, the pressure to be connected and available at all times can lead to anxiety and poor sleep.

What do we know from the research?

It is difficult for researchers to prove that social media have a real effect on young people's well-being. A causal relationship is often not found. But some studies show that there is an association. This may be an interaction. For example, think of adolescents who use social media more due to depressive feelings, which in turn are amplified by their social media use.

What is striking in the studies is that the relation between social media and young people's well-being is generally very small. In fact, for a large group of adolescents, we see no association at all. According to some researchers, this does not change the fact that the social consequences can be large, even if only a small group experiences negative effects. For some young people, we see a clear link between social media and their well-being. In this bitefile, we provide insight into the factors involved.

Personal traits

Scientific research has found several traits that may influence the relationship between social media use and well-being. The most important are gender, age, ability to regulate emotions, personality and physical activity.

Gender

• Girls use social media more than boys to maintain social relationships. As a result, they experience more online support and more meaningful online relationships. But they are also more prone to the negative aspects of social media. Especially when it comes to body image.
• Girls who are more often exposed to unrealistic images of perfect bodies and edited photos of others tend to be less satisfied with their own bodies. This relation was not found for boys.
• In addition, girls with lower self-esteem and body concerns seem to use social media more often to present only their ideal selves to others (e.g., photos that show only the positive aspects of themselves). In this way, they want to live up to societal expectations of beauty.
• Girls seem to spend more time than boys on social media. The relation between depressive feelings, (social) anxiety and social media use is also stronger for girls than for boys.
• Girls are more likely to be bullied online, which puts them at higher risk for depression.

Age

• Young teenagers (aged 10 to 15) who spend a relatively large amount of time on social media appear to be more vulnerable to developing depressive and anxious symptoms as a result of social media use. This is because they have more limited social and emotion-regulation skills compared to older adolescents.

Emotion regulation

• Adolescents who can effectively regulate their emotions are less affected by the negative aspects of social media.
• Those who struggle with emotion regulation tend to use social media more often to manage their mood (e.g., seeking distraction when they feel down). These individuals are also more likely to experience depressive feelings.

Personality

• Extraverted, socially confident adolescents with a strong offline social network are more likely to use social media primarily to communicate with their existing network. This enhances their offline friendships and increases their social support.
• Introverted adolescents with lower social self-esteem and a weaker offline social network are more likely to engage with strangers online, increasing the risk of unwanted interactions.
• Socially anxious adolescents are at risk of using social media in a problematic way because they perceive the online world as a "safer" space than the offline world, leading them to spend more time online.
• Adolescents with low self-esteem are more likely to engage in negative self-comparison online. This can further lower their self-confidence, leading to depressive feelings, dissatisfaction with body image, and ultimately, a higher vulnerability to eating disorders.
• The relationship between social media use and having an eating disorder, the pursuit of thinness, and body dissatisfaction is stronger in adolescents who tend to compare their appearance with others.
• Adolescents struggling with their mental health or other problems may use social media to share their experiences and concerns (anonymously) and seek support from peers and others in similar situations. Those who successfully find this support report being happier, more satisfied with their lives, more self-confident, less lonely, and less socially anxious.
• Adolescents who feel lonely spend more time on social media—sometimes to the extent that it becomes problematic.

Problematic social media use (sometimes referred to as social media addiction) occurs when adolescents cannot stop or reduce their usage, experience stress when not using social media, prioritise social media usage over other activities, and face disruptions in their daily functioning as a result.

Physical activity

• Adolescents who are more physically active seem to be less prone to the negative effects of social media use, such as anxiety and depressive feelings.

How do adolescents use social media?

The way adolescents use social media can influence their mental health and well-being. Key factors identified in research include how they use it, how much time they spend on it, and the type of feedback they receive.

The way of using

• Adolescents who use social media passively (e.g., scrolling through photos, comments, or feeds) are more likely to compare themselves to others. They also experience higher levels of envy, loneliness, anxiety, and depressive feelings.
• Adolescents who use social media actively report a more positive mood, higher self-esteem, greater life satisfaction, and increased social support. Studies show that adolescents who use social media to express their thoughts and emotions and seek social support tend to have better overall mental health and life satisfaction.
• Adolescents who use social media to regulate their mood may initially manage their emotions and stress better. However, excessive time spent on social media for this purpose can have the opposite effect in the long run.
• Adolescents who use social media to procrastinate are more likely to experience stress related to school and academic performance.

Time spent on social media

• Anxiety, depressive feelings, and sleep problems are more common among adolescents who spend a lot of time on social media. Some studies suggest this threshold is more than two hours per day, while others found it is more than four hours per day.
• Adolescents who engage in problematic social media use experience more negative consequences.
• The relationship between excessive/problematic social media use and anxiety or depression is bidirectional: problematic social media use can lead to anxiety and depressive feelings, but these feelings can also lead to excessive and problematic social media use.
• Moderate social media use (less than two hours per day) has been linked to higher life satisfaction, greater perceived social support, better social relationships, and stronger societal engagement in some studies.

However, other studies find no correlation between time spent on social media and well-being. There is a consensus that context and individual personality traits play a more significant role in the relationship between social media use and well-being than screen time alone.

Feedback

• Adolescents who receive positive feedback on social media (such as compliments or kind comments) experience higher self-esteem, a more positive self-image, and greater life satisfaction—especially when the feedback comes from close friends.
• Adolescents who receive negative feedback (such as hate comments or exclusion) report lower self-acceptance and self-esteem, feeling worse about themselves.
• Adolescents who are ignored or excluded online experience a greater sense of not belonging and suffer from Fear of Missing Out (FOMO). FOMO is an anxiety or discomfort caused by the idea of missing out on something enjoyable or important. It can lead to physical symptoms such as sweating, nervousness, and heart palpitations.

Characteristics of social media content

The types of content adolescents are exposed to, and the design of social media platforms can influence the relationship between social media use and mental health.

• Positive content about mental health (e.g., posts that break the stigma around mental health) can inspire, educate, and foster discussions, supporting adolescents recovering from mental health issues.
• Negative content, such as unreliable health advice, distressing news, violent or sexual content, or posts promoting eating disorders or self-harm, can negatively impact their mood and behavior.
• Adolescents who frequently use visual social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok are more likely to worry about their body image and experience higher levels of anxiety and depressive feelings. Exposure to images promoting the "perfect body" and thin ideal can lead to lower body satisfaction, increased shame, greater concern about appearance, and a stronger desire for cosmetic surgery.
• Even fitspiration posts (which aim to promote fitness and health) can contribute to low self-esteem and unhealthy eating habits.
• Seeing like counts, friend lists, and follower numbers can impact adolescents' self-acceptance, as these metrics may be interpreted as measures of self-worth and popularity. This increases the risk of excessive social comparison and rumination.

7 tips to help adolescents maintain a healthy balance

Finally, an adolescent’s social environment—including family, friends, and teachers—can influence the relationship between social media use and well-being.

Based on research, here are seven recommendations:

1. Create a healthy social media "diet" together with adolescents. This is not just about screen time but also about the content they consume and interact with.
2. Respect adolescents' autonomy and privacy. Parental supervision and involvement can buffer against negative effects, but a supportive parenting style is more effective than a restrictive one.
3. Help adolescents filter their content. Encourage them to seek out positive, helpful content while avoiding content that makes them feel uncomfortable (e.g., by curating their follow list and filtering out certain accounts).
4. Motivation shapes their experience: Encourage goal-oriented social media use. Adolescents should reflect on what they want to gain from social media, so they use it with purpose rather than passively consuming content.
5. Invest in positive, active offline relationships with family and friends.
6. Work on strengthening adolescents' emotion regulation skills.
7. Invest in boosting adolescents' self-confidence and reduce loneliness.

By considering these factors, adolescents can experience the benefits of social media while minimizing its potential drawbacks.