Adolescents with clinical mental health conditions use social media differently than their peers without such conditions, spending significantly more time online and experiencing greater dissatisfaction with their virtual social connections, according to research published earlier this month, in Nature Human Behaviour.

The researchers from University of Cambridge analyzed data from 3,340 British adolescents aged 11 to 19 and found that teens with psychological health conditions spent approximately 50 minutes more daily on social media platforms than those without conditions. The research is one of the first to examine social media use in adolescents using clinical-level mental health assessments rather than self-reported symptoms, according to a press release on Nature.

“The link between social media use and youth mental health is hotly debated, but hardly any studies look at young people already struggling with clinical-level mental health symptoms,” said Luisa Fassi, one of the lead authors of the study.

Teens with mental health conditions had a worse time online

The study revealed stark differences, particularly among teens with “internalizing” conditions such as anxiety and depression. These adolescents were twice as likely to compare themselves unfavourably to others online – 48% versus 24% for those without conditions.

Young people with anxiety and depression also reported more mood fluctuations in response to social media feedback (28%) compared to those without any such conditions (13%). Additionally, they experienced less self-control over time spent online and were less willing to express their true emotional state on platforms.

Researchers also found that all psychological health conditions were associated with greater dissatisfaction regarding online friend counts.

“Friendships are crucial during adolescence as they shape identity development,” Fassi commented. “Social media platforms assign a concrete number to friendships, making social comparisons more conspicuous. For young people struggling with mental health conditions, this may increase existing feelings of rejection or inadequacy”.

The study states it employed rigorous benchmarks, only deeming significant those findings with comparable levels of association to how sleep and exercise differ between adolescents with and without mental health conditions.

While adolescents with “externalizing” conditions like ADHD or conduct disorders also spent more time online, they exhibited fewer differences in other aspects of social media engagement compared to their peers. The researchers did emphasize though that their findings do not establish causality between social media use and psychological health conditions. “This could be because mental health conditions shape the way adolescents interact with online platforms, or perhaps social media use contributes to their symptoms. At this stage, we can’t say which comes first – only that these differences exist,” Fassi noted.

The study builds on growing evidence suggesting that social media may influence developmental changes in adolescents and potentially increase vulnerability to various mental health disorders.

Also read: WHO says 1 in 7 young people face mental health challenges

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