Does Social Media Impact Adolescent Mental Health?

ConditionMental Health

Trial statusRecruiting

Trial phaseNot applicable

Trial typeInterventional

Biological sexAll

Age10-14

SponsorGeorgetown University

About this trial

The mental health of adolescents in the United States has seen a steep decline, roughly coinciding with the increasing popularity of social media and smartphones. But does social media have a causal impact on the mental health of adolescents or are concerns about the effect of social media on kids a form of public hysteria? In this study, the investigators will conduct the first field experiment in 10-14-year-olds to examine whether, how, and for whom social media harms mental health.

Eligibility criteria

This trial accepts healthy volunteers

Qualifiers

is an adolescent who is between the ages of 10 and 14;

is an adolescent whose parents have decided to buy them their first smartphone;

is an adolescent both of whose parents/guardians consent for them to be in the study;

is an adolescent who assents to be in the study; 5) is an adolescent who speaks and reads English sufficiently to complete surveys and provide informed consent.

Disqualifiers

is an adolescent who has severe developmental problems (e.g., autism, severe language delay);

is an adolescent who is currently or has ever been diagnosed with severe or moderately severe mental illness;

is an adolescent who is currently or has ever experienced suicidal ideation.

Trial design

Design model

Crossover

Treatments tested in this trial

Restricted Social Media
Behavioral
Participants (N = 500) will be randomly assigned to either have no study-imposed restrictions on social media use (naturalistic social media condition) or have no access to social media apps on their phones (restricted social media condition). This manipulation will last three months, after which both groups will have no study-imposed restrictions on social media for three more months.

Treatment groups

500 Participants

are divided into 2 treatment groups

Group A: Naturalistic Social MediaNo intervention 0 interventions

Group B: Restricted Social MediaExperimental treatment 1 intervention

Trial outcomes