Statistics on social media use and its impact

Is Social Media bad for you? 

• Three billion people, around 40% of the world’s population, use online social media – for an average of two hours every day

• In a survey of 1,800 people, women reported being more stressed than men. Twitter was found to be a “significant contributor” because it increased their awareness of other people’s stress. 

‘How Using Social Media Affects Teenagers’

• A survey conducted by the Royal Society for Public Health asked 14–24-year-olds in the UK how social media platforms impacted their health and well-being. The survey results found that Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram all led to increased feelings of depression, anxiety, poor body image, and loneliness.

There is reliable evidence social media harms young people

• Much of the reaction to various studies on the impact of social media has been on the differences in opinion between researchers and the variety of methods used. 
• This has served to generate debate amongst researchers about the real extent of social media harm, which in turn has been used to divert attention from the real evidence.  

Social media has complex effects on adolescent wellbeing

• A 2023 Pew Research Center survey reveals that a majority of US youth aged 13 to 17 visit YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat at least “about once a day”, with roughly 15% saying they visit these platforms “almost constantly”.

• Negative psychological effects were seen for both boys and girls at age 19, when many are going through major life transitions such as leaving home, going to uni, or starting their first full time job. Those big life changes already induce anxiety, and it appears that social media intensifies that anxiety even further. 

‘Young people cite social media as main reason for worsening mental health’

• The 2022 Headspace National Youth Mental Health Survey found that 57% of young people believe their mental health is getting worse. 42% citing social media as the main reason for the decline—a significant increase from the 37% statistic in the 2018 survey. 

• Other reasons cited for the deterioration of mental wellbeing included global issues (16%), the COVID-19 pandemic (14%) and work and study pressure (13%).

‘Australian teens trapped by social media apps as the ‘like’ button triggers mental health disorders’

• More than four in 10 Australian teens now suffer mental health distress, with experts drawing a link in a rise in cases with the use of social media.

• From 2008-09 to 2021-22, hospitalisation for intentional self-harm has also surged by 70 per cent in young women aged 15-19.

• In the 10 years from 2011 to 2021, psychological distress among 15-24 year olds increased by 120 per cent. 

• A 2020 study found that feelings of rejected and negative self-talk were exacerbated by a lack of 'sufficient' social media likes.

‘Teens, screens and mental health’

• Problematic social media use among adolescents increased from 7% (2018) to 11% (2022). 

• The Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study found that 12% of adolescents are at risk of problematic gaming, with boys more impacted than girls (16% vs 7%). 

• Digital games were played daily by a third (34%) of adolescents who participated in the study, with 1 in 5 playing for at least 4 hours on the days when they played. 

‘Teens' social media damage can't be fixed without legislation’

• Online behaviour may impact school attendance, with the latest report from the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY) showing that attendance rates for Years 1 to 10 have fallen to a 10-year low of 89 per cent.

• The relationship between social media use and life satisfaction is troubling. The more social media children consume, the less satisfied they are with day-to-day life, and this pattern holds until about the age of 16.