Adolescent mental health risks linked to social media use, study finds

A Peruvian study involving 880 teenagers reveals that excessive social media use is connected to higher depressive symptoms, with anxiety and emotional eating acting as key mediators, raising concerns about online behaviour and adolescent wellbeing.

A study of 880 adolescents in east Lima has found that problematic social media use was linked to higher depressive symptoms, with much of the association running through anxiety and emotional eating. The research, published in a peer-reviewed journal by DovePress, adds to a growing body of evidence that heavy or compulsive social media use may be tied to poorer mental health in teenagers, rather than being a harmless form of online socialising. Public health guidance from the US Surgeon General has also warned that excessive social media use can be associated with depression, anxiety and stress in young people.

The Peruvian study drew on students aged 11 to 18 from public and private schools and used brief screening tools to measure anxiety and depressive symptoms, alongside questionnaires on addictive social media use and emotional eating. The authors reported that the model explained a substantial share of the variation in depressive symptoms and showed a good statistical fit, suggesting that the links between social media use and mood were not only direct but also worked through related emotional and behavioural pathways.

Anxiety emerged as the strongest intermediary factor. Adolescents with more addictive social media use were more likely to report anxiety, and anxiety in turn was strongly associated with depressive symptoms. The study also found a smaller but significant role for emotional eating, which describes eating in response to stress or negative feelings rather than hunger. The authors said anxiety and emotional eating together helped explain how social media overuse may contribute to low mood, although the cross-sectional design means the findings cannot prove cause and effect.

The findings fit with wider concerns about the mental health effects of social media during adolescence. A chapter in the NCBI Bookshelf notes that while these platforms can offer support and information, excessive use is associated with sadness, anxiety, depression and stress. The Surgeon General’s advisory likewise says social media has both benefits and risks, and calls for more research and strategies to reduce harm while preserving its positive uses.

The Peruvian paper argues that schools should not focus only on screen-time limits. Instead, it suggests broader prevention strategies, including digital literacy, early screening for anxiety and depression, and training in healthier emotion-regulation skills. The authors say these approaches may be especially useful in settings where social media use, peer pressure and body-image concerns overlap with emerging mental health problems.

The study has clear limitations: it relied on self-reported data, used a convenience sample from one district and could not establish which came first, social media problems or depressive symptoms. Even so, it strengthens the case that adolescent mental health and online behaviour are closely intertwined. In the authors’ view, the most important message is that social media overuse may matter not just because of how much time teenagers spend online, but because of the anxiety and coping patterns that can come with it.