This is a topic that has been in the news a lot recently. Mental health and social media have been a hot topic to the point where countries are now starting to ban youth from accessing social media.

First, I want to compare Australia, which has banned social media for youth, to the United States, which hasn’t. One thing that Australia points out is that there is an 8-11% increase in self-harm among young people, and young people suffer from depression and anxiety (Christensen, 2024). This is important to realize because it shows that the mental health crisis is becoming more widespread.

Second, when we look at Frontiers in Developmental Psychology, the psychologists who worked on this found that, out of 40 studies they examined, only 21 reported complete social media restriction (Lind, 2024). This is something I see as a problem. If only half of the studies people are looking at found a complete restriction.

Thirdly, Dr. Candice Odgers gave a TED Talk on this topic. She found that girls who are depressed use social media more, but not the other way around (TED Talk, 2026). I found this important to point out because it is something that people think. Social media makes people depressed. Yet, we see the opposite. Dr. Odgers also pointed out that the question of how to improve teen mental health extends beyond adult mental health (TED Talk, 2026). So, to fix the youth mental health crisis, first we must fix the adults mental health crisis.

Lastly, I found some rules a journalism company came up with to teach teens how to use social media. Their first rule is “want not need” (Yusoff, 2018). This is pretty simple. If we want to use social media, it would be less stressful. When people feel that they need to do something, it is often not enjoyable. Their second rule is “Post, and move on” (Yusoff, 2018). Their third rule is “Consider your return on investment” (Yusoff, 2018). I think this is important to remember. If you wouldn’t say it in real life, don’t post it online. The fourth rule is “schedule it and stick to it” (Yusoff, 2018). Probably the biggest one that we all struggle with. The last rule is “Go cold turkey every now and then” (Yusoff, 2018). I think if people remember these and overcome fear of missing out (FOMO).

References:

Christensen, H., Slade, A., & Whitton, A. E. (2024). Social media: The root cause of rising youth self-harm or a convenient scapegoat? Medical Journal of Australia, 221(10), 524–526. Retrieved October 2, 2026, from https://doi.org/10.5694/mja2.52503

Lind, M. N., Schueller, S. M., & Odgers, C. L. (2026). We don't know how social media bans will affect youth, but we're doing it anyway! Frontiers in Developmental Psychology, 4, Article 1805989. Retrieved October 2, 2026, from https://doi.org/10.3389/fdpys.2026.1805989

TED Talk. (2026, July 2). Why a Social Media ban Won’t Save teens Candice Odgers TED [Video]. YouTube.

Yusoff, M., & Binte, N. N. (2018). Overcome FOMO: Five easy steps, One social media platform at a time. Social Space. Retrieved October 2, 2026, from https://research.ebsco.com/c/ix3dnl/search/details/2qoz2zlzyj/details?ctx=3PeXbGG_DtcB_Jrb7CQ-U&pos=25&q=social+media+is+not+the+root+cause+of+the+youth+mental+health+crisis