Social Media and Youth Mental Health: The U.S. Surgeon General's Advisory
In 2023, then-U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued a federal advisory reviewing the evidence on social media and youth mental health. It describes potential benefits — peer support and identity affirmation, especially for marginalized youth — alongside a growing body of research associating heavier social media use with elevated risk of depression, anxiety, poor sleep, body dissatisfaction, and cyberbullying-related distress, particularly among adolescent girls. The advisory cites a longitudinal study finding that more than three hours of daily use was linked to double the risk of poor mental health outcomes, and notes platform features such as autoplay and infinite scroll that may encourage excessive, habit-driven use. Rather than declaring social media unsafe, it calls the evidence base incomplete and recommends specific actions for policymakers, technology companies, parents, and researchers. TechKids Foundation cites this as the highest-profile U.S. federal statement associating adolescent social media use with mental health risk.
A longitudinal cohort study of U.S. adolescents aged 12–15 (n=6,595), adjusted for baseline mental health, found that those spending more than 3 hours a day on social media faced double the risk of experiencing poor mental health outcomes including depression and anxiety symptoms, per the advisory.
A 2021 survey found 8th and 10th graders spend an average of 3.5 hours a day on social media, with 1 in 4 spending 5+ hours daily and 1 in 7 spending 7+ hours daily, the advisory reports.
When asked about social media's effect on body image, 46% of adolescents ages 13–17 said it makes them feel worse, 40% said neither better nor worse, and 14% said it makes them feel better, per a survey cited in the advisory.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Surgeon General (Vivek H. Murthy, Surgeon General). Social Media and Youth Mental Health: The U.S. Surgeon General's Advisory. 2023.