As summer comes to an end and students prepare to head back to school, many families are focused on buying school supplies, establishing routines, and preparing for a successful year ahead. With friendships, academics, extracurricular activities, and social media all becoming a larger part of daily life again, it’s a fitting time to reflect on how online experiences can impact mental health and what we can do to support healthy habits. If you have a teenager in your life, you’ve probably heard the phrase, “They’re always on their phone.” Social media has become a normal part of growing up, offering opportunities to connect with friends, express creativity, and learn about the world. While these platforms can have benefits, they can also have a significant impact on a teen’s mental health; therefore, it is important to reflect on how social media may impact your teen.

The Positive Side of Social Media

Social media can provide meaningful benefits for teens. It can include:

• Exploring Identity and Finding Community
  Social media provides a valuable space for identity exploration by allowing young adolescents to connect with others who share similar interests, values, and experiences. For teens from marginalized or minority backgrounds, online communities can offer affirmation, belonging, and access to information that may not be available locally (Rock, 2025).
• Finding Friendship
  For some teenagers, especially those who experience social anxiety, forming friendships in person can be challenging and social media can bridge that gap, helping them find others they can relate to and connect with. Online friendships can offer emotional support and prevent loneliness (Rock, 2025).
• A Creative Outlet
  Social media provides a space for self-expression, which is a key part of healthy development. Creative expression online helps teens explore their talents, receive positive feedback, and see their voices as valuable (Rock, 2025).

The influence of social media is shaped by numerous factors, which include the amount of time adolescents spend on social media platforms, the type of content they are exposed to, the interactions within social media, and the degree to which it disrupts activities that are essential for health, such as physical activity and sleep (Office of the Surgeon General, 2023). Encouraging adolescents to develop healthy social media habits, including setting boundaries around screen time, curating positive online spaces, and balancing online engagement with offline activities, can help reduce these risks while supporting their overall well-being.

The Challenges of Social Media

Although social media offers connection, it can also create pressure. Many teens compare themselves to carefully edited versions of other people’s lives, leading them to question whether they are “good enough.”

Some common challenges include:

• Constant comparison to others.
• Fear of missing out (FOMO).
• Pressure to gain likes, followers, or approval.
• Exposure to unrealistic beauty standards.
• Cyberbullying.
• Difficulty disconnecting from their devices.
• Increased anxiety around social interactions.

Research suggests that social media can negatively affect adolescent mental health when it contributes to frequent social comparison, exposure to harmful content, cyberbullying, or excessive use that interferes with sleep, physical activity, and face-to- face relationships. Adolescents who regularly compare themselves to idealized images online are more likely to experience lower self-esteem, body dissatisfaction, anxiety, and depressive symptoms, particularly among girls (American Psychological Association, 2023). These findings highlight the importance of helping adolescents develop healthy digital habits, build critical thinking skills around the content they consume, and balance online engagement with offline activities that support their overall well-being (Office of the Surgeon General, 2023).

Signs Social Media May Be Affecting Mental Health

Parents and caregivers may notice:

• Increased anxiety after using social media.
• Changes in mood or self-esteem.
• Withdrawal from family or in-person friendships.
• Difficulty sleeping.
• Constant need to check notifications.
• Comparing themselves to others.
• Loss of interest in activities they previously enjoyed.

These changes don’t automatically mean social media is the cause, but they may be worth exploring with curiosity rather than criticism.

How Parents Can Help

Instead of focusing only on limiting screen time, try creating open conversations.

You might ask:

• “How do you usually feel after being on social media?”
• “Who makes you feel good online?”
• “Are there accounts that leave you feeling worse about yourself?”
• “What do you enjoy most about social media?”

Other helpful strategies include:

• Encouraging regular breaks from screens.
• Keeping devices out of bedrooms at night.
• Modelling healthy technology habits.
• Supporting hobbies, sports, and face-to-face friendships.
• Helping teens curate their feeds by unfollowing accounts that negatively affect
  their mood.

Social media is an important part of many teens’ lives, and while it can offer opportunities for connection, creativity, and support, it can also present challenges that affect mental health and well-being. Rather than viewing social media as something to fear or eliminate, parents and caregivers can play an important role in helping teens build healthy digital habits and develop the skills to navigate online spaces thoughtfully. By encouraging open conversations, modelling balanced technology use, and fostering strong offline relationships and activities, families can help adolescents create a healthier relationship with social media. As teens head back to school this fall, checking in about their online experiences can be just as important as asking about their classes or friendships. Small, supportive conversations can go a long way in promoting resilience, self-confidence, and overall mental well-being.

References:
American Psychological Association. (2023). Health advisory on social media use in
adolescence. https://www.apa.org/topics/social-media-internet/health-advisory-
adolescent-social-media-use

Office of the Surgeon General. (2023). Social media and youth mental health: The U.S.
Surgeon General’s advisory. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK594763/

Robinson, L., & Smith, M. (2026, June 17). Social media and mental health.
HelpGuide.org. https://www.helpguide.org/mental-health/wellbeing/social-media-and-
mental-health

Rock, K. (2025, November 6). The positives of social media for teens and how parents
can guide safe use. University of Rochester Medical Center.
https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/news/publications/health-matters/the-positives-of-
social-media-for-teens-and-how-parents-can-guide-safe-use

— Alex Liota, Psychotherapist Intern, MA RP-Qualifying