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The Power of Social Media – Positive and Negative PPT Presentation

• by Refresh Science
• October 17, 2021 January 22, 2023

Without us even realize, social media gets so powerful than it ever has. Lots of people and businesses rely on social media. The power of social media has the potential to shape society in certain ways. More than half of the world’s population are active users of social media with an average of 3,9 billion active users.

Social media was originally intended for entertainment and communication purposes l. But now it has transformed into a platform with diversified purposes. That being said, anyone with a smartphone or computer and access to the internet is likely to have at least one username on social media. Everyone with social media accounts has either gain or give something from the platform. Many try to gain the power to influence others in many ways.

Understanding the Power of Social Media

When used strategically, social media is the biggest market research and digital marketing that ever existed. However, it is not an easy task to influence others using social media. Gaining power and influence from social media is real work even if you already have fame. This is because there are too many things are uploaded only from billions of active users. Thus, if you cannot stand to be different and offers what people need, then you will get blend in with the online crowd.

People use social media for real-time update features. This feature allows people to share and receive news faster than any electronic devices. Users with lots of following or famous people have the power to influence others through the things they upload or shares opinion. On the other hand, followers tend to trust the things they heard or read from influencers. That is why it is very easy to spread love as well as hate through the social media platform.

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How social media helps people?

The truth that social media hides the face of people makes people brave than ever. Those who are shy in real life can easily communicate through social media. However, this is a double-edged sword because people can get so evil since they can talk the way they want without thinking. Online hate and bullying grow to be serious issues that anyone can get from people they do not even know. Scary as it sounds, is it?

Though social media can influence people in a bad way, others also gain more positive sides from the platform. Social media is a powerful platform for marketing with no boundary to continents, countries, and even times. Allowing people to sell anything to anyone globally. Big and small companies build trust with followers and turn them into potential customers.

As easy as spreading hate, people also use social media to spread love and empathy. In social media, anyone has the voice to share opinions they never dare to say offline. Also in social media, people have the access to respond to any shared opinions, news, status, and anything alike.

The positive side of social media

Social media is indeed like a double-edged sword. Depending on the users, social media can be positive and negative. Here are some positive effects of social media.

• Easier to meet new people – meeting new people is not an easy thing to do offline. Unless you are the ongoing and fun type of person at a party, it can be quite tough to make friends. The rise of social media allows you to have a whole different concept of friendship. Even the most introverted can get like hundreds of friends on social media. Though it is not like a real friend to hang out in real life, still it is the kind of friends you will talk to through social media.
• Foster empathy – the truth is, we share a little bit too much of our lives on social media. What we share in daily life may be personal, but other people may find it inspirational. This also makes it very easy to empathize with others through the stuff they shared. It is also very easily find people who go through the same situation.
• Faster communication – with the packed daily life schedule, communication time with family and friends is getting smaller. Social media makes communication faster than ever considering the time spent on the platform. You can easily send messages and comments to a long-lost friend.
• Spread news easily – as easy as making friends and communicating, news travel faster in social media. Once the news is uploaded, people have free access to read, like, and share it. The more people who share, the wider the scope of the news.
• Easier marketing – with the power it has, people utilize social media as a powerful platform for marketing. Share some good content for the followers and lead them to be potential customers. Though social media is a complex thing it is a powerful platform to market business.

The Negative side of Social Media

Social media is not all positive though. The negative side of social media is mostly geared due to excessive use of the platform and also lacks users’ understanding. Constantly exposed to other people’s life may lead to anxiety and depression . Some people find they are unconsciously comparing their life with others. This is surely the path to anxiety and depression as what you see on social media is not always true.

Other bad sides of social media are cyberbullying and hate. Though the two are not new it gets worse since people can hide their true selves behind the keyboard. Allowing them to talk freely without considering if it might hurt others.

Spending too much time on social media results in another syndrome of missing out. FOMO or fear of missing out makes you constantly check the messages and social media. You always want to know what others are up to and see if they have more fun than you already have. This is the sign of fear of missing out because you cannot stand for not knowing what happen in your social media timeline .

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How Social Media Impact Our Life (Explained)

By: Author Valerie Forgeard

Posted on Published: December 8, 2021  - Last updated: January 2, 2024

Categories Society

Social media is a big part of our lives. It has become how we sometimes communicate with others and even ourselves. We rely on social media to keep up with friends, family, and what’s happening worldwide. Social Media impacts our life in many ways, but it can also be detrimental if used incorrectly or too much.

This blog post will help you understand how social media impacts our lives for better or worse by providing tips that you can use to make your experience more positive for yourself and those around you!

Social Media Has an Impact on Real Life

I always think of social media as mapping our social lives in the mass media, where everyone can interact with us and judge our every move. Social media has become an essential part of our lives whether we like it or not. They can be used for good or for bad.

Social media has changed the face of communication and personal interaction. The impact they have on the world can be observed in many ways.

Social media has changed how we live and will continue to do so in the future. Social media is a great place to get new information, make friends, and voice your opinion.

Before, you could only talk to people face-to-face or over the phone. Making friends that way was difficult because you’d have to be around them for them to consider you a friend.

Social media has changed that because it allows you to connect with people worldwide in your everyday life. This has allowed us to expand our social network and connect with more people than ever before.

Social media positively affects our lives and can help us grow as individuals, but it can also be harmful if abused.

How Social Media Affects Mental Health

Social media can affect your mental health in several ways. First, they can lead to feelings of inadequacy and low self-worth.

Most people on social media post only their most flattering, heavily filtered photos and present themselves in the best light.

When you log on to social media, you’re confronted with a seemingly endless stream of beautiful pictures and perfect strangers who’re getting married, traveling the world, or have six-figure jobs – all things that make you feel like you’re falling short.

You may wish you were more attractive, had more impressive friends/family/colleagues, lived in a nicer house, or owned more material things.

This can lead to feelings of envy and resentment toward others.

These feelings are amplified by so many people presenting the best version of themselves online: We tend to post our happiest moments and most achievements online – our bad days, failures, and frustrations are much less reported.

Some studies show that we’re more likely to share our feelings on Facebook when we feel strong emotions like happiness or sadness than when we feel neutral.

So when you see a Facebook user talking about his/her great vacation (on a sandy beach, for example), it’s easy to think they have a perfect life even though you don’t see the in-flight arguments or the complaints about the heat.

Social Media Can Cause Depression

A new study in the journal JAMA Psychiatry suggests that teens who spend more than three hours daily on social media sites are more likely to develop depression and other mental health problems.

In another JAMA Psychiatry article, new statistics about social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram negatively impact adult mental health.

A 2018 study from the College of Pennsylvania found that reducing social media use to 30 minutes daily led to less depression, insomnia, loneliness, and fear of missing out.

If Social Media Is Bad For Our Mental Health, Why Do We Still Use It?

Social media is a blessing and a curse. They bring people together and can sometimes tear them apart. But the reason people use social media is to love it.

Social media is a great tool that allows us to connect with people who’re unreachable in the real world, make ourselves heard, and stay in touch with all of our friends.

They’re also beneficial for social media marketing purposes.

For many people, social media is their first contact with the outside world. It’s how they learn about events, communicate with people they don’t know, and have access to many resources that help them run their businesses while enjoying their free time.

I have a few friends who decided to retire from social media, and most of them came back because they couldn’t keep in touch with most people outside of social media.

10 Examples of the Positive Impact of Social Media

1. provides new opportunities for interaction and connections.

Social media connects us with friends, family, and social networks in ways that weren’t possible before. Everyone knows how to use it, even if they don’t always use it well. The power of social media lies in its ability to break down communication barriers and create connections between people on a global scale.

2. Helps people stay in touch and keep up to date

Social media helps you stay connected with loved ones who live far away.

Everyone can share personal experiences, post pictures, new music, videos, and discuss various topics. Social media is unlike any other ever created because it’s changed how people share their lives with their loved ones.

3. Allows people to share moments spontaneously

Social media lets you share your life with the world in real-time. People love to see what’s happening in your life, and social media lets you show them.

Being able to connect with others instantly means that if there’s a problem, everyone in the world has access to the same information at the same time and can take action quickly.

4. Allows people to share their views with the world and get feedback

A person can have a business idea, but if no one in their town knows about it, they won’t get any money. Social media allows people to share their ideas with friends, family, colleagues, and anyone accessing the Internet.

5. Creates a sense of community

Social networking sites allow social media users to create their communities based on their interests and preferences.

These communities offer people the opportunity to meet and discuss various topics.

By joining these groups or creating your own, you can meet like-minded people with similar interests and create a positive impact.

6. Create more jobs in the economy

The most popular social media sites, like Facebook and LinkedIn, have job boards where new jobs are posted daily.

Using social media, unemployed people can find job opportunities and apply directly through their social media accounts.

7. Informs users about local and online events

Social media platforms can create local and online events on the same or different platforms.

You can live stream an event in real-time and interact directly with your audience.

8. Helps charities raise funds

Charities and donors use social media to raise awareness and funds for various causes.

For example, on the social networking sites Facebook and Instagram, you can create pages, post updates, hold fundraisers, and collect donations.

Users no longer have to wait for telethons or other televised events to donate or help a cause. Charities can create their fundraiser, and donors can track progress in real-time.

9. Builds a brand presence for businesses

You can build relationships with your customers directly through social media. You can share news, products, events, and even the day-to-day happenings in the office or job site.

Social media also allows you to build your brand’s reputation through consistent posts across all networks.

Your online presence showcases your company’s personality, culture, and beliefs and shows potential customers who you’re and what sets you apart.

10. Enables brands to do business

Social media is used by businesses of all sizes, including many small and medium-sized businesses. Social media has become an important marketing tool for many businesses. Some social media platforms also allow companies to sell their products directly through the social media business page.

Related: What Is the Importance of Business Communication

10 Negative Effects of Social Media

1. impact on social interaction.

Many people look at their phones every few minutes. This leads to many interruptions during a normal day and often to “phubbing” – snubbing someone in favor of your phone. This causes stress in relationships.

Social networking has also allowed us to meet new people and interact with friends and family in a new way. However, the more people we “friend,” the more the quality of our interactions can diminish.

2. Emotional detachment

The more time you spend on social media, the more likely you will become disconnected from the real world.

If you spend more time on these sites than with your friends and family or with physical activities, it’s time to examine how you spend your time.

Are you becoming addicted? Are you looking at other people’s lives more than your own? If so, it could be affecting your professional and personal relationships.

3. Constant distraction

Social media is a double-edged sword. They can be a great way to connect with other people but also a great way to waste time.

This is especially true for entrepreneurs, who should know better than anyone that time is a minimal resource.

4. Sleep deprivation and the fear of missing out

Sleep deprivation can affect anyone who doesn’t get enough sleep, but late-night social media sessions can exacerbate it.

Many people check their social media feeds after they go to bed and before they leave for work or school in the morning. This lack of sleep can lead to depression, poor concentration, and mental health problems.

5. Danger from fake profiles, spammers, and scammers

Fake profiles on social media are used for various purposes, including identity theft, spamming, and scamming.

The worst thing about these fake profiles is that they contain all your data. If someone decides to use this information for identity theft, they’ll first look at your connections on Facebook to see who might be at risk.

6. No privacy

Your personal information is vulnerable.

The information you share on social media is available to anyone, including potential employers and government agencies.

Information you disclose on your Facebook, Twitter , and other social media accounts can be tracked by third parties, such as websites and companies that create databases to target potential customers.

7. Increased feelings of inadequacy

Regular social media use can lead to increased feelings of inadequacy, isolation, and depression in young adults, research suggests.

These feelings of inadequacy and the need for social comparison can lead young people to change aspects of their personality (diets, hair color, clothing) or try risky behaviors they see portrayed on social media.

8. Social isolation

With all the time people spend on social media, they can lose touch with what’s important – genuine human relationships, like close family ties or friendships with neighbors or colleagues.

Social isolation can make you lonely, depressed, or anxious.

Some people are surprised that they spend more time on social media than with their families! That’s one reason a young person who uses social media heavily is more likely to feel depressed or have other negative emotions than peers who don’t use social media as much.

9. Stress & instant messaging

Studies have shown that the constant presence of social media and the need to respond immediately to text messages, emails, and phone calls can cause high stress and anxiety.

10. Fake news

Although social media platforms are doing their best to stop it, Fake News is still a problem, but they aren’t solely to blame.

We’ve already seen that some people use this tragedy to promote their political agenda.

For example, before social media existed, Populists used the power of modern technology, including the movie camera and radio, to spread their message of hate and genocide.

The speed with which information can be disseminated today makes it even more important to be vigilant in sourcing news.

We must demand sources we can trust because our freedom depends on them.

Imagine Life Without Social Media

I’ve been thinking about that for a while.

For nearly two decades, I’ve lived and traveled abroad and experienced many places where I was removed from social media and digital technologies.

I’ve also found myself in situations where my access to the Internet was severely limited or cut off altogether, and that was the best time in my life.

However, social media and digital communications have become an integral part of our daily life for many people, even those who don’t live in a big city or have a job that requires them to be connected to the Internet all day. And so it’s tough to disconnect from all of that, even if you want to because your contacts are just there.

They’re accessible, and they’re easy to use. You can always connect with them, find out what they’re up to, see what they think about things, and constantly interact with friends and family far away.

Sometimes we wish it was a little more difficult or less direct. We’d love to sit down with a book or some other form of distraction without feeling guilty that someone might get back to us because we haven’t responded to him or her in 15 minutes.

The Question is: How Do You Find a Balance?

A social media detox might be just what you need to get your life back on track.

It can be very tempting to check Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat every few minutes. But it might be time for a break if you’re having difficulty focusing on work or paying attention to the people around you.

How to Take a Break From Social Media

Find out which social media platform(s) you use most.

Once you’ve figured out which apps you use the most, look at how much time you spend on them daily.

If it’s more than an hour, maybe it’s time to take a break from social media for the next week or so.

Block out certain times during the day

If you want to spend an hour or two on social media daily, that’s fine. But if it starts to take over your everyday life – constantly looking at your phone when you’re supposed to be doing something else and feeling restless when you’re not – it’s time to take a break.

Delete your apps from your phone

If you can’t live without checking Facebook every five minutes, install the app on your desktop computer (you can even save it as your desktop wallpaper for quick access) and ensure it’s easily accessible. If you can’t delete your apps, at least turn off notifications on your phone.

Focus on offline activities

Many fulfilling offline activities include sports, art, writing, cooking, reading, etc. Get together with your friends or family face-to-face. You’ll be surprised how much you’ll appreciate the time you spend with those you haven’t seen.

Leave your phone outside your bedroom when you go to sleep

Many people get so attached to their devices that they don’t want to turn them off while they sleep.

This makes it hard to get a good night’s sleep because all you can think about is what’s happening on your social media feeds.

The result is insomnia and anxiety: you wake up in the middle of the night worrying about world events, news, your bank balance, or someone you like will be looking at their phone in an hour.

What to Keep in Mind When You Want to Opt Out of Your Social Media Accounts

The decision to remove yourself from social media is a serious one.

As with most things in life, there are both pros and cons.

It’s important to consider your feelings before making the decision to remove yourself from any of these platforms.

Benefits of Withdrawing From Social Media

• Reduce your stress and anxiety levels in your daily life. Social media can be addictive and stressful. You may compare your life to other social media users as you read others’ posts. This can lead to feelings of inadequacy, anxiety, and depression. If you think social media is stressing you out, it may be an excellent decision to withdraw from it.
• Spend more time with your family and friends. Social media can keep you from real social interaction with the people most matter to you. By withdrawing from social media, you can put away your phone or computer and spend more time with the people who matter to you.
• Give your eyes a break. If you’re reading Facebook or Instagram all day, your eyes will quickly become strained and tired. Step away from social media for a while and give your eyes a much-needed break by looking at other things (like the face of

Benefits of Staying on Social Media

• Keep in Touch with Friends and Family. It’s also a great way to meet new people – especially if you’re traveling. Some of your closest relationships result from a chance encounter online. And even if they’re far away – or maybe even dead – you can always reach them on social media.
• Stay Connected Social media can make it easier to find out things about other people’s lives, including their interests and activities. If you’re bored with people who aren’t interesting enough to keep you entertained, social media can help by connecting you with cool groups and events in your area or around the world.
• Stay Informed Social media is a great way to learn new things from people who share your interests and passions.

Social Media for Business

Social media isn’t just for your personal use anymore. Small businesses are using various forms of social media to grow their business.

It’s a great way to reach new customers and interact with their existing customers. They can get feedback from their customers and provide great customer service.

Social media allows small businesses to build relationships with potential customers before meeting them in person.

Social Media Helps You Network

Social media helps you network with people with similar interests and allows you to meet new people with the same or similar ideas and beliefs.

Whether you’re looking for friends or want to network, there are many different ways that social media can improve your life in different ways.

Which Social Media Platform is Right for You?

If you use social media for your business or professional networking, the question isn’t whether you should leave social media but which social platform is right for you.

Most Popular Platforms Used by Businesses and Professionals

• LinkedIn – This platform offers business-to-business (B2B) contacts a great opportunity. It’s primarily geared toward professional use and allows you to connect with potential clients. LinkedIn gives you more control over your audience than on other social networks. You can narrow them by job title, company size, industry, etc.
• Facebook – this social platform is best for marketers with a small budget. It allows you to focus on your target audience and get the most out of your advertising budget. Facebook is still growing and therefore offers many untapped opportunities for business.
• Twitter – is primarily used as a real-time news feed, but it also provides a great way for businesses to connect with customers and prospects. Using Twitter ads, you can connect with new prospects and customers cost-effectively. Twitter is especially effective for those who’ve little time for social media. The messages are usually short.
• Instagram – great for eCommerce is a fun way to market your business and get your name out there. The Instagram app and ads are constantly improving.

A Social Media Site Is Like Any Other Tool; It Only Affects Us if We Let It

Social media is here to stay, so it is essential to know how to use it properly.

The impact of social media on our lives, how we do business, and more is significant.

They’ve become a way of life for everyone and are a good network for people to stay in touch and share information.

Related Post

Did you know that social media also significantly affects our reading habits and literacy?

With the digital age in full swing, the way we consume information and literature is rapidly changing, especially among younger generations.

To delve deeper into this topic, check out our insightful article: Why It Matters That Teens Are Reading Less . This piece sheds light on the critical impact of social media on traditional reading practices, highlighting the decline in leisure reading among teenagers. It explores how social media platforms’ instant gratification and fast-paced nature can reshape attention spans and reading preferences.

Understanding this shift is crucial, as it has profound implications for cognitive development, academic performance, and emotional well-being.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the impact of social media on our lives.

Social media profoundly impacts our lives, including how we communicate, consume information, political opinions, buying behaviors, and overall sense of self and community. The impact can be positive and negative, depending on its use.

How does social media affect our mental health?

Studies have shown that excessive use of social media can contribute to feelings of anxiety, depression, loneliness, and lower self-esteem. However, social media can also provide support networks and connections to improve mental health. The impact largely depends on how and why individuals use these platforms.

How does social media impact communication?

Social media has revolutionized communication, making it faster and more immediate. It allows people to connect globally, share ideas, and collaborate like never before. However, this can also spread misinformation and misunderstandings due to digital communication’s lack of non-verbal cues.

What are the positive effects of social media?

Positive effects of social media include the ability to connect with people worldwide, access to a wealth of information and different perspectives, opportunities for learning, and a platform for self-expression and creativity.

What are the negative effects of social media?

Negative effects of social media can include cyberbullying, privacy concerns, misinformation, and the potential for addiction. It can also lead to decreased productivity and adversely affect mental health.

Can social media impact our decision-making process?

Yes, social media can significantly impact our decision-making processes. From influencing our purchasing decisions through ads and influencer marketing to shaping our political views, our social media content can shape our thoughts, perceptions, and actions.

How does social media influence our perception of reality?

Social media can influence our perception of reality by presenting curated, often idealized versions of people’s lives, leading to unrealistic expectations and comparisons. It can also influence our perception of events or issues based on the opinions and perspectives we’re exposed to.

Is it possible to reduce the negative impacts of social media?

Yes, it is possible to reduce the negative impacts of social media. This can be done by setting boundaries, curating feeds to include diverse and positive content, taking regular digital detoxes, and fostering healthy offline relationships and hobbies.

How does social media impact teenagers differently than adults?

Teenagers, who are in a critical stage of social and emotional development, might be more susceptible to the negative impacts of social media, such as cyberbullying, peer pressure, and the impact on self-esteem from comparison. However, they can also benefit from these platforms’ educational content and social connections.

How has social media changed society?

Social media has significantly changed society in various ways. It has transformed how we communicate, how we access information, and even how we perceive ourselves and the world around us. It has led to significant societal changes, including shifts in political discourse, consumer behavior, and social activism.

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Role of social media

Aug 18, 2018

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Presentation Transcript

Role Of Social Media In Our Life

Contents • What is Social Media? • Types of Social Media Services. • Positive Role of Social Media. • Negative Role of Social Media.

What is Social Media? • Social Media refers to online tools and services which allow an exchange of ideas, information, videos, pictures and graphics. • Social Media is the collection of tools and online spaces available to help individuals and businesses to accelerate their information and communication needs.

Types of Social Media Services. • Social networking (Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+). • Micro blogging (Twitter, Tumblr). • Photo sharing (Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest). • Video sharing (YouTube, Facebook Live, Periscope, Vimeo).

Positive Role of Social Media

Positive effect of Social Media on Educaion • As per survey of previous research, 90% of students use social networks. • For purpose of education we can use social media in an innovative way.

Positive effect of Social Media on Business • Social Media enables you to reach markets you may not otherwise have access to for virtually no cost, other than in time and effort. • Ask questions and obtain instant feedback from customers, peers and prospects.

Negative Role of Social Media

Negative effect of Social Media • It is Addictive- Survey show that 63% of Indians logon to, Instagram daily and 40% logon multiple time each day. • Cyber bullying- Cyberbullying includes sending, posting, or sharing negative, harmful, false, or mean content about someone else.

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The Role of Social Media in Our Empathy Crisis

We can be the change..

Posted July 11, 2022 | Reviewed by Abigail Fagan

• As it erodes empathy, social media has become dangerous to a healthy society.
• The empathy levels of American college students have dropped 40 percent, which some researchers attribute to the rise of social media.
• We are now living with an unprecedented level of polarization.

This is part two of a two-part series.

One of the primary reasons social media has become so dangerous to a healthy society is that it erodes empathy. The reason town hall meetings became a healthy medium for cross-aisle conversations is that people had to listen to each other, even when they disagreed.

Now that these conversations have gone online, empathy has fallen to the wayside. A recent meta-analysis of 72 studies conducted between 1979 and 2009, for instance, found that the empathy levels of American college students have dropped 40 percent, which the authors primarily attribute to the rise of social media.

Where is the love?

As empathy takes a back seat, actions are selected based on predetermined beliefs formulated on social media that are unlikely to hold up in real time. It is for this reason that Dylann Roof, the 21-year-old white supremacist who killed nine African-American worshippers in a church in Charleston, South Carolina in 2015, almost aborted his mission.

Roof reportedly told police that he “almost didn’t go through with it because everyone was so nice to him.” When one man pleaded with him to stop, he replied, “No, you’ve raped our women, and you are taking over the country,” followed by, as if to convince himself, “I have to do what I have to do.”

For these and other reasons, we are now living with an unprecedented level of polarization as political divisions are sowing distrust and tearing the United States and the world asunder. In the US, for example, never before in history have we experienced so few opposition party members voting for an incumbent president.

Go Along to Get Along

So what happened? Social media companies like Facebook promised us that its services would encourage people to care more for each other and express their authentic views more both online and in person . None of this has happened.

Instead, recent Pew research has found that people speak up less in person now for fear of retribution. Why? Social media has helped them realize there are many opposing views out there they would prefer not to confront.

Like the Nazi bureaucrats at Nuremberg, most people now “go along to get along” while a few outspoken extremists dominate the social media chat waves. Many now live in a virtual world characterized by a collective blandness in which we remain silent while those with little to lose run the digital roost and wedge us further apart from each other.

Be the Change

What can we do now to turn this around? Here are a few strategies you might consider.

Lobby your city, state and federal representatives for policies that govern virtual interactions that could become dangerous to society. Ratchet up the pressure on lawmakers to come up with regulations that help social media companies balance freedom of speech with accountability.

Get up from your screen and interact with people—especially those with different views. Recall that in the famous Milgram experiment on conformity , the only thing that stopped people from harming another person was when they were in the same room with them.

Volunteer. The research I’ve been reviewing for over a decade points to no better way to shift away from social media and the loneliness it produces and into the real world than to volunteer. It’s worth your time to find a weekly volunteer gig through which you meet new people and do something positive for those less fortunate than yourself in your community.

Anthony Silard, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Leadership and the Director of the Center for Sustainable Leadership at Luiss Business School in Rome, and the Distinguished Visiting Professor of Leadership at Tecnológico de Monterrey.

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Social Media and Mental Health: Benefits, Risks, and Opportunities for Research and Practice

John a. naslund.

a Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA

Ameya Bondre

b CareNX Innovations, Mumbai, India

John Torous

c Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA

Kelly A. Aschbrenner

d Department of Psychiatry, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Lebanon, NH

Social media platforms are popular venues for sharing personal experiences, seeking information, and offering peer-to-peer support among individuals living with mental illness. With significant shortfalls in the availability, quality, and reach of evidence-based mental health services across the United States and globally, social media platforms may afford new opportunities to bridge this gap. However, caution is warranted, as numerous studies highlight risks of social media use for mental health. In this commentary, we consider the role of social media as a potentially viable intervention platform for offering support to persons with mental disorders, promoting engagement and retention in care, and enhancing existing mental health services. Specifically, we summarize current research on the use of social media among mental health service users, and early efforts using social media for the delivery of evidence-based programs. We also review the risks, potential harms, and necessary safety precautions with using social media for mental health. To conclude, we explore opportunities using data science and machine learning, for example by leveraging social media for detecting mental disorders and developing predictive models aimed at characterizing the aetiology and progression of mental disorders. These various efforts using social media, as summarized in this commentary, hold promise for improving the lives of individuals living with mental disorders.

Introduction

Social media has become a prominent fixture in the lives of many individuals facing the challenges of mental illness. Social media refers broadly to web and mobile platforms that allow individuals to connect with others within a virtual network (such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, or LinkedIn), where they can share, co-create, or exchange various forms of digital content, including information, messages, photos, or videos ( Ahmed, Ahmad, Ahmad, & Zakaria, 2019 ). Studies have reported that individuals living with a range of mental disorders, including depression, psychotic disorders, or other severe mental illnesses, use social media platforms at comparable rates as the general population, with use ranging from about 70% among middle-age and older individuals, to upwards of 97% among younger individuals ( Aschbrenner, Naslund, Grinley, et al., 2018 ; M. L. Birnbaum, Rizvi, Correll, Kane, & Confino, 2017 ; Brunette et al., 2019 ; Naslund, Aschbrenner, & Bartels, 2016 ). Other exploratory studies have found that many of these individuals with mental illness appear to turn to social media to share their personal experiences, seek information about their mental health and treatment options, and give and receive support from others facing similar mental health challenges ( Bucci, Schwannauer, & Berry, 2019 ; Naslund, Aschbrenner, Marsch, & Bartels, 2016b ).

Across the United States and globally, very few people living with mental illness have access to adequate mental health services ( Patel et al., 2018 ). The wide reach and near ubiquitous use of social media platforms may afford novel opportunities to address these shortfalls in existing mental health care, by enhancing the quality, availability, and reach of services. Recent studies have explored patterns of social media use, impact of social media use on mental health and wellbeing, and the potential to leverage the popularity and interactive features of social media to enhance the delivery of interventions. However, there remains uncertainty regarding the risks and potential harms of social media for mental health ( Orben & Przybylski, 2019 ), and how best to weigh these concerns against potential benefits.

In this commentary, we summarized current research on the use of social media among individuals with mental illness, with consideration of the impact of social media on mental wellbeing, as well as early efforts using social media for delivery of evidence-based programs for addressing mental health problems. We searched for recent peer reviewed publications in Medline and Google Scholar using the search terms “mental health” or “mental illness” and “social media”, and searched the reference lists of recent reviews and other relevant studies. We reviewed the risks, potential harms, and necessary safety precautions with using social media for mental health. Overall, our goal was to consider the role of social media as a potentially viable intervention platform for offering support to persons with mental disorders, promoting engagement and retention in care, and enhancing existing mental health services, while balancing the need for safety. Given this broad objective, we did not perform a systematic search of the literature and we did not apply specific inclusion criteria based on study design or type of mental disorder.

Social Media Use and Mental Health

In 2020, there are an estimated 3.8 billion social media users worldwide, representing half the global population ( We Are Social, 2020 ). Recent studies have shown that individuals with mental disorders are increasingly gaining access to and using mobile devices, such as smartphones ( Firth et al., 2015 ; Glick, Druss, Pina, Lally, & Conde, 2016 ; Torous, Chan, et al., 2014 ; Torous, Friedman, & Keshavan, 2014 ). Similarly, there is mounting evidence showing high rates of social media use among individuals with mental disorders, including studies looking at engagement with these popular platforms across diverse settings and disorder types. Initial studies from 2015 found that nearly half of a sample of psychiatric patients were social media users, with greater use among younger individuals ( Trefflich, Kalckreuth, Mergl, & Rummel-Kluge, 2015 ), while 47% of inpatients and outpatients with schizophrenia reported using social media, of which 79% reported at least once-a-week usage of social media websites ( Miller, Stewart, Schrimsher, Peeples, & Buckley, 2015 ). Rates of social media use among psychiatric populations have increased in recent years, as reflected in a study with data from 2017 showing comparable rates of social media use (approximately 70%) among individuals with serious mental illness in treatment as compared to low-income groups from the general population ( Brunette et al., 2019 ).

Similarly, among individuals with serious mental illness receiving community-based mental health services, a recent study found equivalent rates of social media use as the general population, even exceeding 70% of participants ( Naslund, Aschbrenner, & Bartels, 2016 ). Comparable findings were demonstrated among middle-age and older individuals with mental illness accessing services at peer support agencies, where 72% of respondents reported using social media ( Aschbrenner, Naslund, Grinley, et al., 2018 ). Similar results, with 68% of those with first episode psychosis using social media daily were reported in another study ( Abdel-Baki, Lal, D.-Charron, Stip, & Kara, 2017 ).

Individuals who self-identified as having a schizophrenia spectrum disorder responded to a survey shared through the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI), and reported that visiting social media sites was one of their most common activities when using digital devices, taking up roughly 2 hours each day ( Gay, Torous, Joseph, Pandya, & Duckworth, 2016 ). For adolescents and young adults ages 12 to 21 with psychotic disorders and mood disorders, over 97% reported using social media, with average use exceeding 2.5 hours per day ( M. L. Birnbaum et al., 2017 ). Similarly, in a sample of adolescents ages 13-18 recruited from community mental health centers, 98% reported using social media, with YouTube as the most popular platform, followed by Instagram and Snapchat ( Aschbrenner et al., 2019 ).

Research has also explored the motivations for using social media as well as the perceived benefits of interacting on these platforms among individuals with mental illness. In the sections that follow (see Table 1 for a summary), we consider three potentially unique features of interacting and connecting with others on social media that may offer benefits for individuals living with mental illness. These include: 1) Facilitate social interaction; 2) Access to a peer support network; and 3) Promote engagement and retention in services.

Summary of potential benefits and challenges with social media for mental health

Facilitate Social Interaction

Social media platforms offer near continuous opportunities to connect and interact with others, regardless of time of day or geographic location. This on demand ease of communication may be especially important for facilitating social interaction among individuals with mental disorders experiencing difficulties interacting in face-to-face settings. For example, impaired social functioning is a common deficit in schizophrenia spectrum disorders, and social media may facilitate communication and interacting with others for these individuals ( Torous & Keshavan, 2016 ). This was suggested in one study where participants with schizophrenia indicated that social media helped them to interact and socialize more easily ( Miller et al., 2015 ). Like other online communication, the ability to connect with others anonymously may be an important feature of social media, especially for individuals living with highly stigmatizing health conditions ( Berger, Wagner, & Baker, 2005 ), such as serious mental disorders ( Highton-Williamson, Priebe, & Giacco, 2015 ).

Studies have found that individuals with serious mental disorders ( Spinzy, Nitzan, Becker, Bloch, & Fennig, 2012 ) as well as young adults with mental illness ( Gowen, Deschaine, Gruttadara, & Markey, 2012 ) appear to form online relationships and connect with others on social media as often as social media users from the general population. This is an important observation because individuals living with serious mental disorders typically have few social contacts in the offline world, and also experience high rates of loneliness ( Badcock et al., 2015 ; Giacco, Palumbo, Strappelli, Catapano, & Priebe, 2016 ). Among individuals receiving publicly funded mental health services who use social media, nearly half (47%) reported using these platforms at least weekly to feel less alone ( Brusilovskiy, Townley, Snethen, & Salzer, 2016 ). In another study of young adults with serious mental illness, most indicated that they used social media to help feel less isolated ( Gowen et al., 2012 ). Interestingly, more frequent use of social media among a sample of individuals with serious mental illness was associated with greater community participation, measured as participation in shopping, work, religious activities or visiting friends and family, as well as greater civic engagement, reflected as voting in local elections ( Brusilovskiy et al., 2016 ).

Emerging research also shows that young people with moderate to severe depressive symptoms appear to prefer communicating on social media rather than in-person ( Rideout & Fox, 2018 ), while other studies have found that some individuals may prefer to seek help for mental health concerns online rather than through in-person encounters ( Batterham & Calear, 2017 ). In a qualitative study, participants with schizophrenia described greater anonymity, the ability to discover that other people have experienced similar health challenges, and reducing fears through greater access to information as important motivations for using the Internet to seek mental health information ( Schrank, Sibitz, Unger, & Amering, 2010 ). Because social media does not require the immediate responses necessary in face-to-face communication, it may overcome deficits with social interaction due to psychotic symptoms that typically adversely affect face-to-face conversations ( Docherty et al., 1996 ). Online social interactions may not require the use of non-verbal cues, particularly in the initial stages of interaction ( Kiesler, Siegel, & McGuire, 1984 ), with interactions being more fluid, and within the control of users, thereby overcoming possible social anxieties linked to in-person interaction ( Indian & Grieve, 2014 ). Furthermore, many individuals with serious mental disorders can experience symptoms including passive social withdrawal, blunted affect and attentional impairment, as well as active social avoidance due to hallucinations or other concerns ( Hansen, Torgalsbøen, Melle, & Bell, 2009 ); thus, potentially reinforcing the relative advantage, as perceived by users, of using social media over in person conversations.

Access to a Peer Support Network

There is growing recognition about the role that social media channels could play in enabling peer support ( Bucci et al., 2019 ; Naslund, Aschbrenner, et al., 2016b ), referred to as a system of mutual giving and receiving where individuals who have endured the difficulties of mental illness can offer hope, friendship, and support to others facing similar challenges ( Davidson, Chinman, Sells, & Rowe, 2006 ; Mead, Hilton, & Curtis, 2001 ). Initial studies exploring use of online self-help forums among individuals with serious mental illnesses have found that individuals with schizophrenia appeared to use these forums for self-disclosure, and sharing personal experiences, in addition to providing or requesting information, describing symptoms, or discussing medication ( Haker, Lauber, & Rössler, 2005 ), while users with bipolar disorder reported using these forums to ask for help from others about their illness ( Vayreda & Antaki, 2009 ). More recently, in a review of online social networking in people with psychosis, Highton-Williamson et al (2015) highlight that an important purpose of such online connections was to establish new friendships, pursue romantic relationships, maintain existing relationships or reconnect with people, and seek online peer support from others with lived experience ( Highton-Williamson et al., 2015 ).

Online peer support among individuals with mental illness has been further elaborated in various studies. In a content analysis of comments posted to YouTube by individuals who self-identified as having a serious mental illness, there appeared to be opportunities to feel less alone, provide hope, find support and learn through mutual reciprocity, and share coping strategies for day-to-day challenges of living with a mental illness ( Naslund, Grande, Aschbrenner, & Elwyn, 2014 ). In another study, Chang (2009) delineated various communication patterns in an online psychosis peer-support group ( Chang, 2009 ). Specifically, different forms of support emerged, including ‘informational support’ about medication use or contacting mental health providers, ‘esteem support’ involving positive comments for encouragement, ‘network support’ for sharing similar experiences, and ‘emotional support’ to express understanding of a peer’s situation and offer hope or confidence ( Chang, 2009 ). Bauer et al. (2013) reported that the main interest in online self-help forums for patients with bipolar disorder was to share emotions with others, allow exchange of information, and benefit by being part of an online social group ( Bauer, Bauer, Spiessl, & Kagerbauer, 2013 ).

For individuals who openly discuss mental health problems on Twitter, a study by Berry et al. (2017) found that this served as an important opportunity to seek support and to hear about the experiences of others ( Berry et al., 2017 ). In a survey of social media users with mental illness, respondents reported that sharing personal experiences about living with mental illness and opportunities to learn about strategies for coping with mental illness from others were important reasons for using social media ( Naslund et al., 2017 ). A computational study of mental health awareness campaigns on Twitter provides further support with inspirational posts and tips being the most shared ( Saha et al., 2019 ). Taken together, these studies offer insights about the potential for social media to facilitate access to an informal peer support network, though more research is necessary to examine how these online interactions may impact intentions to seek care, illness self-management, and clinically meaningful outcomes in offline contexts.

Promote Engagement and Retention in Services

Many individuals living with mental disorders have expressed interest in using social media platforms for seeking mental health information ( Lal, Nguyen, & Theriault, 2018 ), connecting with mental health providers ( M. L. Birnbaum et al., 2017 ), and accessing evidence-based mental health services delivered over social media specifically for coping with mental health symptoms or for promoting overall health and wellbeing ( Naslund et al., 2017 ). With the widespread use of social media among individuals living with mental illness combined with the potential to facilitate social interaction and connect with supportive peers, as summarized above, it may be possible to leverage the popular features of social media to enhance existing mental health programs and services. A recent review by Biagianti et al (2018) found that peer-to-peer support appeared to offer feasible and acceptable ways to augment digital mental health interventions for individuals with psychotic disorders by specifically improving engagement, compliance, and adherence to the interventions, and may also improve perceived social support ( Biagianti, Quraishi, & Schlosser, 2018 ).

Among digital programs that have incorporated peer-to-peer social networking consistent with popular features on social media platforms, a pilot study of the HORYZONS online psychosocial intervention demonstrated significant reductions in depression among patients with first episode psychosis ( Alvarez-Jimenez et al., 2013 ). Importantly, the majority of participants (95%) in this study engaged with the peer-to-peer networking feature of the program, with many reporting increases in perceived social connectedness and empowerment in their recovery process ( Alvarez-Jimenez et al., 2013 ). This moderated online social therapy program is now being evaluated as part of a large randomized controlled trial for maintaining treatment effects from first episode psychosis services ( Alvarez-Jimenez et al., 2019 ).

Other early efforts have demonstrated that use of digital environments with the interactive peer-to-peer features of social media can enhance social functioning and wellbeing in young people at high risk of psychosis ( Alvarez-Jimenez et al., 2018 ). There has also been a recent emergence of several mobile apps to support symptom monitoring and relapse prevention in psychotic disorders. Among these apps, the development of PRIME (Personalized Real-time Intervention for Motivational Enhancement) has involved working closely with young people with schizophrenia to ensure that the design of the app has the look and feel of mainstream social media platforms, as opposed to existing clinical tools ( Schlosser et al., 2016 ). This unique approach to the design of the app is aimed at promoting engagement, and ensuring that the app can effectively improve motivation and functioning through goal setting and promoting better quality of life of users with schizophrenia ( Schlosser et al., 2018 ).

Social media platforms could also be used to promote engagement and participation in in-person services delivered through community mental health settings. For example, the peer-based lifestyle intervention called PeerFIT targets weight loss and improved fitness among individuals living with serious mental illness through a combination of in-person lifestyle classes, exercise groups, and use of digital technologies ( Aschbrenner, Naslund, Shevenell, Kinney, & Bartels, 2016 ; Aschbrenner, Naslund, Shevenell, Mueser, & Bartels, 2016 ). The intervention holds tremendous promise as lack of support is one of the largest barriers toward exercise in patients with serious mental illness ( Firth et al., 2016 ) and it is now possible to use social media to counter such. Specifically, in PeerFIT, a private Facebook group is closely integrated into the program to offer a closed platform where participants can connect with the lifestyle coaches, access intervention content, and support or encourage each other as they work towards their lifestyle goals ( Aschbrenner, Naslund, & Bartels, 2016 ; Naslund, Aschbrenner, Marsch, & Bartels, 2016a ). To date, this program has demonstrate preliminary effectiveness for meaningfully reducing cardiovascular risk factors that contribute to early mortality in this patient group ( Aschbrenner, Naslund, Shevenell, Kinney, et al., 2016 ), while the Facebook component appears to have increased engagement in the program, while allowing participants who were unable to attend in-person sessions due to other health concerns or competing demands to remain connected with the program ( Naslund, Aschbrenner, Marsch, McHugo, & Bartels, 2018 ). This lifestyle intervention is currently being evaluated in a randomized controlled trial enrolling young adults with serious mental illness from a variety of real world community mental health services settings ( Aschbrenner, Naslund, Gorin, et al., 2018 ).

These examples highlight the promise of incorporating the features of popular social media into existing programs, which may offer opportunities to safely promote engagement and program retention, while achieving improved clinical outcomes. This is an emerging area of research, as evidenced by several important effectiveness trials underway ( Alvarez-Jimenez et al., 2019 ; Aschbrenner, Naslund, Gorin, et al., 2018 ), including efforts to leverage online social networking to support family caregivers of individuals receiving first episode psychosis services ( Gleeson et al., 2017 ).

Challenges with Social Media for Mental Health

The science on the role of social media for engaging persons with mental disorders needs a cautionary note on the effects of social media usage on mental health and well being, particularly in adolescents and young adults. While the risks and harms of social media are frequently covered in the popular press and mainstream news reports, careful consideration of the research in this area is necessary. In a review of 43 studies in young people, many benefits of social media were cited, including increased self-esteem, and opportunities for self-disclosure ( Best, Manktelow, & Taylor, 2014 ). Yet, reported negative effects were an increased exposure to harm, social isolation, depressive symptoms and bullying ( Best et al., 2014 ). In the sections that follow (see Table 1 for a summary), we consider three major categories of risk related to use of social media and mental health. These include: 1) Impact on symptoms; 2) Facing hostile interactions; and 3) Consequences for daily life.

Impact on Symptoms

Studies consistently highlight that use of social media, especially heavy use and prolonged time spent on social media platforms, appears to contribute to increased risk for a variety of mental health symptoms and poor wellbeing, especially among young people ( Andreassen et al., 2016 ; Kross et al., 2013 ; Woods & Scott, 2016 ). This may partly be driven by the detrimental effects of screen time on mental health, including increased severity of anxiety and depressive symptoms, which have been well documented ( Stiglic & Viner, 2019 ). Recent studies have reported negative effects of social media use on mental health of young people, including social comparison pressure with others and greater feeling of social isolation after being rejected by others on social media ( Rideout & Fox, 2018 ). In a study of young adults, it was found that negative comparisons with others on Facebook contributed to risk of rumination and subsequent increases in depression symptoms ( Feinstein et al., 2013 ). Still, the cross sectional nature of many screen time and mental health studies makes it challenging to reach causal inferences ( Orben & Przybylski, 2019 ).

Quantity of social media use is also an important factor, as highlighted in a survey of young adults ages 19 to 32, where more frequent visits to social media platforms each week were correlated with greater depressive symptoms ( Lin et al., 2016 ). More time spent using social media is also associated with greater symptoms of anxiety ( Vannucci, Flannery, & Ohannessian, 2017 ). The actual number of platforms accessed also appears to contribute to risk as reflected in another national survey of young adults where use of a large number of social media platforms was associated with negative impact on mental health ( Primack et al., 2017 ). Among survey respondents using between 7 and 11 different social media platforms compared to respondents using only 2 or fewer platforms, there was a 3 times greater odds of having high levels of depressive symptoms and a 3.2 times greater odds of having high levels of anxiety symptoms ( Primack et al., 2017 ).

Many researchers have postulated that worsening mental health attributed to social media use may be because social media replaces face-to-face interactions for young people ( Twenge & Campbell, 2018 ), and may contribute to greater loneliness ( Bucci et al., 2019 ), and negative effects on other aspects of health and wellbeing ( Woods & Scott, 2016 ). One nationally representative survey of US adolescents found that among respondents who reported more time accessing media such as social media platforms or smartphone devices, there was significantly greater depressive symptoms and increased risk of suicide when compared to adolescents who reported spending more time on non-screen activities, such as in-person social interaction or sports and recreation activities ( Twenge, Joiner, Rogers, & Martin, 2018 ). For individuals living with more severe mental illnesses, the effects of social media on psychiatric symptoms have received less attention. One study found that participation in chat rooms may contribute to worsening symptoms in young people with psychotic disorders ( Mittal, Tessner, & Walker, 2007 ), while another study of patients with psychosis found that social media use appeared to predict low mood ( Berry, Emsley, Lobban, & Bucci, 2018 ). These studies highlight a clear relationship between social media use and mental health that may not be present in general population studies ( Orben & Przybylski, 2019 ), and emphasize the need to explore how social media may contribute to symptom severity and whether protective factors may be identified to mitigate these risks.

Facing Hostile Interactions

Popular social media platforms can create potential situations where individuals may be victimized by negative comments or posts. Cyberbullying represents a form of online aggression directed towards specific individuals, such as peers or acquaintances, which is perceived to be most harmful when compared to random hostile comments posted online ( Hamm et al., 2015 ). Importantly, cyberbullying on social media consistently shows harmful impact on mental health in the form of increased depressive symptoms as well as worsening of anxiety symptoms, as evidenced in a review of 36 studies among children and young people ( Hamm et al., 2015 ). Furthermore, cyberbullying disproportionately impacts females as reflected in a national survey of adolescents in the United States, where females were twice as likely to be victims of cyberbullying compared to males ( Alhajji, Bass, & Dai, 2019 ). Most studies report cross-sectional associations between cyberbullying and symptoms of depression or anxiety ( Hamm et al., 2015 ), though one longitudinal study in Switzerland found that cyberbullying contributed to significantly greater depression over time ( Machmutow, Perren, Sticca, & Alsaker, 2012 ).

For youth ages 10 to 17 who reported major depressive symptomatology, there was over 3 times greater odds of facing online harassment in the last year compared to youth who reported mild or no depressive symptoms ( Ybarra, 2004 ). Similarly, in a 2018 national survey of young people, respondents ages 14 to 22 with moderate to severe depressive symptoms were more likely to have had negative experiences when using social media, and in particular, were more likely to report having faced hostile comments, or being “trolled”, from others when compared to respondents without depressive symptoms (31% vs. 14%) ( Rideout & Fox, 2018 ). As these studies depict risks for victimization on social media and the correlation with poor mental health, it is possible that individuals living with mental illness may also experience greater hostility online compared to individuals without mental illness. This would be consistent with research showing greater risk of hostility, including increased violence and discrimination, directed towards individuals living with mental illness in in-person contexts, especially targeted at those with severe mental illnesses ( Goodman et al., 1999 ).

A computational study of mental health awareness campaigns on Twitter reported that while stigmatizing content was rare, it was actually the most spread (re-tweeted) demonstrating that harmful content can travel quickly on social media ( Saha et al., 2019 ). Another study was able to map the spread of social media posts about the Blue Whale Challenge, an alleged game promoting suicide, over Twitter, YouTube, Reddit, Tumblr and other forums across 127 countries ( Sumner et al., 2019 ). These findings show that it is critical to monitor the actual content of social media posts, such as determining whether content is hostile or promotes harm to self or others. This is pertinent because existing research looking at duration of exposure cannot account for the impact of specific types of content on mental health and is insufficient to fully understand the effects of using these platforms on mental health.

Consequences for Daily Life

The ways in which individuals use social media can also impact their offline relationships and everyday activities. To date, reports have described risks of social media use pertaining to privacy, confidentiality, and unintended consequences of disclosing personal health information online ( Torous & Keshavan, 2016 ). Additionally, concerns have been raised about poor quality or misleading health information shared on social media, and that social media users may not be aware of misleading information or conflicts of interest especially when the platforms promote popular content regardless of whether it is from a trustworthy source ( Moorhead et al., 2013 ; Ventola, 2014 ). For persons living with mental illness there may be additional risks from using social media. A recent study that specifically explored the perspectives of social media users with serious mental illnesses, including participants with schizophrenia spectrum disorders, bipolar disorder, or major depression, found that over one third of participants expressed concerns about privacy when using social media ( Naslund & Aschbrenner, 2019 ). The reported risks of social media use were directly related to many aspects of everyday life, including concerns about threats to employment, fear of stigma and being judged, impact on personal relationships, and facing hostility or being hurt ( Naslund & Aschbrenner, 2019 ). While few studies have specifically explored the dangers of social media use from the perspectives of individuals living with mental illness, it is important to recognize that use of these platforms may contribute to risks that extend beyond worsening symptoms and that can affect different aspects of daily life.

In this commentary we considered ways in which social media may yield benefits for individuals living with mental illness, while contrasting these with the possible harms. Studies reporting on the threats of social media for individuals with mental illness are mostly cross-sectional, making it difficult to draw conclusions about direction of causation. However, the risks are potentially serious. These risks should be carefully considered in discussions pertaining to use of social media and the broader use of digital mental health technologies, as avenues for mental health promotion, or for supporting access to evidence-based programs or mental health services. At this point, it would be premature to view the benefits of social media as outweighing the possible harms, when it is clear from the studies summarized here that social media use can have negative effects on mental health symptoms, can potentially expose individuals to hurtful content and hostile interactions, and can result in serious consequences for daily life, including threats to employment and personal relationships. Despite these risks, it is also necessary to recognize that individuals with mental illness will continue to use social media given the ease of accessing these platforms and the immense popularity of online social networking. With this in mind, it may be ideal to raise awareness about these possible risks so that individuals can implement necessary safeguards, while also highlighting that there could also be benefits. For individuals with mental illness who use social media, being aware of the risks is an essential first step, and then highlighting ways that use of these popular platforms could also contribute to some benefits, ranging from finding meaningful interactions with others, engaging with peer support networks, and accessing information and services.

To capitalize on the widespread use of social media, and to achieve the promise that these platforms may hold for supporting the delivery of targeted mental health interventions, there is need for continued research to better understand how individuals living with mental illness use social media. Such efforts could inform safety measures and also encourage use of social media in ways that maximize potential benefits while minimizing risk of harm. It will be important to recognize how gender and race contribute to differences in use of social media for seeking mental health information or accessing interventions, as well as differences in how social media might impact mental wellbeing. For example, a national survey of 14- to 22-year olds in the United States found that female respondents were more likely to search online for information about depression or anxiety, and to try to connect with other people online who share similar mental health concerns, when compared to male respondents ( Rideout & Fox, 2018 ). In the same survey, there did not appear to be any differences between racial or ethnic groups in social media use for seeking mental health information ( Rideout & Fox, 2018 ). Social media use also appears to have a differential impact on mental health and emotional wellbeing between females and males ( Booker, Kelly, & Sacker, 2018 ), highlighting the need to explore unique experiences between gender groups to inform tailored programs and services. Research shows that lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender individuals frequently use social media for searching for health information and may be more likely compared to heterosexual individuals to share their own personal health experiences with others online ( Rideout & Fox, 2018 ). Less is known about use of social media for seeking support for mental health concerns among gender minorities, though this is an important area for further investigation as these individuals are more likely to experience mental health problems and more likely to experience online victimization when compared to heterosexual individuals ( Mereish, Sheskier, Hawthorne, & Goldbach, 2019 ).

Similarly, efforts are needed to explore the relationship between social media use and mental health among ethnic and racial minorities. A recent study found that exposure to traumatic online content on social media showing violence or hateful posts directed at racial minorities contributed to increases in psychological distress, PTSD symptoms, and depression among African American and Latinx adolescents in the United States ( Tynes, Willis, Stewart, & Hamilton, 2019 ). These concerns are contrasted by growing interest in the potential for new technologies including social media to expand the reach of services to underrepresented minority groups ( Schueller, Hunter, Figueroa, & Aguilera, 2019 ). Therefore, greater attention is needed to understanding the perspectives of ethnic and racial minorities to inform effective and safe use of social media for mental health promotion efforts.

Research has found that individuals living with mental illness have expressed interest in accessing mental health services through social media platforms. A survey of social media users with mental illness found that most respondents were interested in accessing programs for mental health on social media targeting symptom management, health promotion, and support for communicating with health care providers and interacting with the health system ( Naslund et al., 2017 ). Importantly, individuals with serious mental illness have also emphasized that any mental health intervention on social media would need to be moderated by someone with adequate training and credentials, would need to have ground rules and ways to promote safety and minimize risks, and importantly, would need to be free and easy to access.

An important strength with this commentary is that it combines a range of studies broadly covering the topic of social media and mental health. We have provided a summary of recent evidence in a rapidly advancing field with the goal of presenting unique ways that social media could offer benefits for individuals with mental illness, while also acknowledging the potentially serious risks and the need for further investigation. There are also several limitations with this commentary that warrant consideration. Importantly, as we aimed to address this broad objective, we did not conduct a systematic review of the literature. Therefore, the studies reported here are not exhaustive, and there may be additional relevant studies that were not included. Additionally, we only summarized published studies, and as a result, any reports from the private sector or websites from different organizations using social media or other apps containing social media-like features would have been omitted. Though it is difficult to rigorously summarize work from the private sector, sometimes referred to as “gray literature”, because many of these projects are unpublished and are likely selective in their reporting of findings given the target audience may be shareholders or consumers.

Another notable limitation is that we did not assess risk of bias in the studies summarized in this commentary. We found many studies that highlighted risks associated with social media use for individuals living with mental illness; however, few studies of programs or interventions reported negative findings, suggesting the possibility that negative findings may go unpublished. This concern highlights the need for a future more rigorous review of the literature with careful consideration of bias and an accompanying quality assessment. Most of the studies that we described were from the United States, as well as from other higher income settings such as Australia or the United Kingdom. Despite the global reach of social media platforms, there is a dearth of research on the impact of these platforms on the mental health of individuals in diverse settings, as well as the ways in which social media could support mental health services in lower income countries where there is virtually no access to mental health providers. Future research is necessary to explore the opportunities and risks for social media to support mental health promotion in low-income and middle-income countries, especially as these countries face a disproportionate share of the global burden of mental disorders, yet account for the majority of social media users worldwide ( Naslund et al., 2019 ).

Future Directions for Social Media and Mental Health

As we consider future research directions, the near ubiquitous social media use also yields new opportunities to study the onset and manifestation of mental health symptoms and illness severity earlier than traditional clinical assessments. There is an emerging field of research referred to as ‘digital phenotyping’ aimed at capturing how individuals interact with their digital devices, including social media platforms, in order to study patterns of illness and identify optimal time points for intervention ( Jain, Powers, Hawkins, & Brownstein, 2015 ; Onnela & Rauch, 2016 ). Given that most people access social media via mobile devices, digital phenotyping and social media are closely related ( Torous et al., 2019 ). To date, the emergence of machine learning, a powerful computational method involving statistical and mathematical algorithms ( Shatte, Hutchinson, & Teague, 2019 ), has made it possible to study large quantities of data captured from popular social media platforms such as Twitter or Instagram to illuminate various features of mental health ( Manikonda & De Choudhury, 2017 ; Reece et al., 2017 ). Specifically, conversations on Twitter have been analyzed to characterize the onset of depression ( De Choudhury, Gamon, Counts, & Horvitz, 2013 ) as well as detecting users’ mood and affective states ( De Choudhury, Gamon, & Counts, 2012 ), while photos posted to Instagram can yield insights for predicting depression ( Reece & Danforth, 2017 ). The intersection of social media and digital phenotyping will likely add new levels of context to social media use in the near future.

Several studies have also demonstrated that when compared to a control group, Twitter users with a self-disclosed diagnosis of schizophrenia show unique online communication patterns ( Michael L Birnbaum, Ernala, Rizvi, De Choudhury, & Kane, 2017 ), including more frequent discussion of tobacco use ( Hswen et al., 2017 ), symptoms of depression and anxiety ( Hswen, Naslund, Brownstein, & Hawkins, 2018b ), and suicide ( Hswen, Naslund, Brownstein, & Hawkins, 2018a ). Another study found that online disclosures about mental illness appeared beneficial as reflected by fewer posts about symptoms following self-disclosure (Ernala, Rizvi, Birnbaum, Kane, & De Choudhury, 2017). Each of these examples offers early insights into the potential to leverage widely available online data for better understanding the onset and course of mental illness. It is possible that social media data could be used to supplement additional digital data, such as continuous monitoring using smartphone apps or smart watches, to generate a more comprehensive ‘digital phenotype’ to predict relapse and identify high-risk health behaviors among individuals living with mental illness ( Torous et al., 2019 ).

With research increasingly showing the valuable insights that social media data can yield about mental health states, greater attention to the ethical concerns with using individual data in this way is necessary ( Chancellor, Birnbaum, Caine, Silenzio, & De Choudhury, 2019 ). For instance, data is typically captured from social media platforms without the consent or awareness of users ( Bidargaddi et al., 2017 ), which is especially crucial when the data relates to a socially stigmatizing health condition such as mental illness ( Guntuku, Yaden, Kern, Ungar, & Eichstaedt, 2017 ). Precautions are needed to ensure that data is not made identifiable in ways that were not originally intended by the user who posted the content, as this could place an individual at risk of harm or divulge sensitive health information ( Webb et al., 2017 ; Williams, Burnap, & Sloan, 2017 ). Promising approaches for minimizing these risks include supporting the participation of individuals with expertise in privacy, clinicians, as well as the target individuals with mental illness throughout the collection of data, development of predictive algorithms, and interpretation of findings ( Chancellor et al., 2019 ).

In recognizing that many individuals living with mental illness use social media to search for information about their mental health, it is possible that they may also want to ask their clinicians about what they find online to check if the information is reliable and trustworthy. Alternatively, many individuals may feel embarrassed or reluctant to talk to their clinicians about using social media to find mental health information out of concerns of being judged or dismissed. Therefore, mental health clinicians may be ideally positioned to talk with their patients about using social media, and offer recommendations to promote safe use of these sites, while also respecting their patients’ autonomy and personal motivations for using these popular platforms. Given the gap in clinical knowledge about the impact of social media on mental health, clinicians should be aware of the many potential risks so that they can inform their patients, while remaining open to the possibility that their patients may also experience benefits through use of these platforms. As awareness of these risks grows, it may be possible that new protections will be put in place by industry or through new policies that will make the social media environment safer. It is hard to estimate a number needed to treat or harm today given the nascent state of research, which means the patient and clinician need to weigh the choice on a personal level. Thus offering education and information is an important first step in that process. As patients increasingly show interest in accessing mental health information or services through social media, it will be necessary for health systems to recognize social media as a potential avenue for reaching or offering support to patients. This aligns with growing emphasis on the need for greater integration of digital psychiatry, including apps, smartphones, or wearable devices, into patient care and clinical services through institution-wide initiatives and training clinical providers ( Hilty, Chan, Torous, Luo, & Boland, 2019 ). Within a learning healthcare environment where research and care are tightly intertwined and feedback between both is rapid, the integration of digital technologies into services may create new opportunities for advancing use of social media for mental health.

As highlighted in this commentary, social media has become an important part of the lives of many individuals living with mental disorders. Many of these individuals use social media to share their lived experiences with mental illness, to seek support from others, and to search for information about treatment recommendations, accessing mental health services, and coping with symptoms ( Bucci et al., 2019 ; Highton-Williamson et al., 2015 ; Naslund, Aschbrenner, et al., 2016b ). As the field of digital mental health advances, the wide reach, ease of access, and popularity of social media platforms could be used to allow individuals in need of mental health services or facing challenges of mental illness to access evidence-based treatment and support. To achieve this end and to explore whether social media platforms can advance efforts to close the gap in available mental health services in the United States and globally, it will be essential for researchers to work closely with clinicians and with those affected by mental illness to ensure that possible benefits of using social media are carefully weighed against anticipated risks.

Acknowledgements

Dr. Naslund is supported by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (U19MH113211). Dr. Aschbrenner is supported by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (1R01MH110965-01).

Publisher's Disclaimer: This Author Accepted Manuscript is a PDF file of a an unedited peer-reviewed manuscript that has been accepted for publication but has not been copyedited or corrected. The official version of record that is published in the journal is kept up to date and so may therefore differ from this version.

Conflict of Interest

The authors have nothing to disclose.

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Oxford University Press's Academic Insights for the Thinking World

How interdisciplinarity enhances our understanding of social media’s societal impact

Oxford Intersections

Oxford Intersections is a new concept in interdisciplinary academic publishing from Oxford University Press (OUP). This online-only product will provide access to large, interdisciplinary works, with each focused on a complex, global topic. Each topic will contain around 300 peer-reviewed original research articles, all helpfully organized into themed sections.

• By Laeeq Khan
• September 3 rd 2024

Addressing today’s most pressing challenges requires a new approach to thinking. An interdisciplinary transformative approach can advance knowledge by exploiting and harmonizing the strengths of various disciplines within a unified framework. This approach deepens our collective understanding by bringing together the disparate and sometimes contradictory perspectives of many disciplines, all of which offer valuable insights.

Recognizing the value of this integrated approach, we can apply it to understand the complexity of social networks in our increasingly connected world. Social media platforms are at the intersection of different technologies and media types; they combine text, images, video, and interactive elements, often integrating features. This convergence influences how content is created, consumed, and shared, and changes the dynamics of communication and marketing.

Every day, people from a variety of backgrounds engage in online social interactions. At the heart of this digital transformation is the evolution of individual and cultural identity in a globally connected world. Social platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram serve as digital public squares, where identities are formed and expressed. These spaces also allow the construction of digital diasporas, allowing users from different backgrounds to maintain cultural links and create new common links between geographical divisions. On social networks, personal interactions can strengthen or remodel local traditions and societal norms.

The blending of the global and the local extends into the realm of religious expression. Social media facilitates a new form of religious engagement, where traditional practices are reimagined in the digital landscape. Online prayer groups and live services illustrate how religious communities adapt and flourish in these new media environments. This shift to digital worship prompts scholars from theological, sociological, and digital communication fields to offer a richer understanding of spirituality in the digital age.

This interdisciplinary exploration is essential for the development of strategies that promote a diverse and balanced media landscape, essential for a healthy democratic society.

In the realm of news and journalism, the advent of generative AI and sophisticated algorithms has transformed how information is curated and consumed, often reinforcing existing biases through echo chambers. Social media is a battleground where misinformation can spread as swiftly as legitimate information. Given that public discourse faces significant challenges to its integrity and authenticity, it is essential to engage experts in the field of information technology, psychology, and media studies in a collaborative effort to carefully examine and address the implications of these technologies. This interdisciplinary exploration is essential for the development of strategies that promote a diverse and balanced media landscape, essential for a healthy democratic society.

Similarly, the intersection of social media with commerce and marketing has sparked a transformation in consumer behavior and business strategies. Influencers and digital marketers now play pivotal roles in shaping consumer preferences and purchasing decisions, highlighting the need for insights from economics, marketing, and data analytics.

The vigorous debate on freedom of expression, data confidentiality, and platform responsibility underlines the need for sound governance and ethical surveillance in social networks. As legal frameworks race to catch up with technological advances, a collaborative approach involving legal scholars, ethicists, and technologists is essential. Their joint efforts aim to balance innovation with the protection of individual rights and social well-being, addressing key issues such as data confidentiality, content regulation, and platform responsibility. These efforts also analyze wider societal implications such as disruptions to traditional business models and privacy concerns.

In the educational sphere, social networks have revolutionized traditional learning environments, introducing tools that combine entertainment with education. The effective integration of these instruments into pedagogical practices requires the combined knowledge of educational theorists, technologists, and cognitive psychologists. This collaboration is essential to understanding how digital interactions can improve or prevent processes and learning outcomes, ensuring that educational progress keeps pace with technological innovations.

Finally, the impact of social networks on mental health and physical well-being cannot be overlooked. The role of social media in shaping social interactions and personal identity has profound health implications, requiring a joint effort from psychologists, health professionals, and digital communication experts. Together, they can develop strategies to mitigate the risks associated with digital involvement, such as cyber harassment and information overload, while unearthing the positive aspects of social connectivity.

These varied investigations make it clear that a robust interdisciplinary approach is essential for understanding the societal impacts of social media. As we traverse this digital landscape, the insights gained from such an approach are crucial in developing informed strategies and policies, which aim to maximize the benefits of social media while minimizing its risks. Each disciplinary perspective enriches our understanding and promotes a more careful and effective interaction with the digital world, equipping societies to manage the complexities of this evolving environment.

Featured image by mikoto.raw Photographer via Pexels . Public domain.

Dr. Laeeq Khan is an Associate Professor at the Scripps College of Communication and founding Director of the Social Media Analytics Research Team (SMART) Lab at Ohio University. With 18 years of international teaching and research experience, Dr. Khan has served as editor for several academic journals and worked on numerous funded research grants. His interdisciplinary expertise spans public health and crises, social data analytics, marketing, audience engagement, and information literacy. He earned his Ph.D. in media and information studies from Michigan State University, focusing on social media and audience engagement, and is committed to leveraging technology for societal benefits.

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Potential risks of content, features, and functions: The science of how social media affects youth

Almost a year after APA issued its health advisory on social media use in adolescence , society continues to wrestle with ways to maximize the benefits of these platforms while protecting youth from the potential harms associated with them. 1

By early 2024, few meaningful changes to social media platforms had been enacted by industry, and no federal policies had been adopted. There remains a need for social media companies to make fundamental changes to their platforms.

Psychological science continues to reveal benefits from social media use , as well as risks and opportunities that certain content, features, and functions present to young social media users. The science discussed below highlights the need to enact new, responsible safety standards to mitigate harm. 2

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Related content

• APA report calls on social media companies to take responsibility to protect youth
• How much is too much social media use?

Elaboration of science on social media content, features, and functions

Platforms built for adults are not inherently suitable for youth. i Youth require special protection due to areas of competence or vulnerability as they progress through the childhood, teenage, and late adolescent years. ii This is especially true for youth experiencing psychological, physical, intellectual, mental health, or other developmental challenges; chronological age is not directly associated with social media readiness . iii

Hypersensitivity to social feedback

Brain development starting at ages 10–13 (i.e., the outset of puberty) until approximately the mid-twenties is linked with hypersensitivity to social feedback/stimuli. iv In other words, youth become especially invested in behaviors that will help them get personalized feedback, praise, or attention from peers.

• AI-recommended content has the potential to be especially influential and hard to resist within this age range. v It is critical that AI-recommended content be designed to prioritize youth safety and welfare over engagement. This suggests potentially restricting the use of personalized recommendations using youth data, design features that may prioritize content evoking extreme emotions, or content that may depict illegal or harmful behavior.
• Likes and follower counts activate neural regions that trigger repetitive behavior, and thus may exert greater influence on youths’ attitudes and behavior than among adults. vi Youth are especially sensitive to both positive social feedback and rejection from others. Using these metrics to maintain platform engagement capitalizes on youths’ vulnerabilities and likely leads to problematic use.
• The use of youth data for tailored ad content similarly is influential for youth who are biologically predisposed toward peer influence at this stage and sensitive to personalized content. vii

Need for relationship skill building

Adolescence is a critical period for the development of more complex relationship skills, characterized by the ability to form emotionally intimate relationships. viii The adolescent years should provide opportunities to practice these skills through one-on-one or small group interactions.

• The focus on metrics of followers, likes, and views focuses adolescents’ attention on unilateral, depersonalized interactions and may discourage them from building healthier and psychologically beneficial relationship skills. ix

Susceptibility to harmful content

Adolescence is a period of heightened susceptibility to peer influence, impressionability, and sensitivity to social rejection. x Harmful content, including cyberhate, the depiction of illegal behavior, and encouragement to engage in self-harm (e.g., cutting or eating-disordered behavior) is associated with increased mental health difficulties among both the targets and witnesses of such content. xi

• The absence of clear and transparent processes for addressing reports of harmful content makes it harder for youth to feel protected or able to get help in the face of harmful content.

Underdeveloped impulse control

Youths’ developing cortical system (particularly in the brain’s inhibitory control network) makes them less capable of resisting impulses or stopping themselves from behavior that may lead to temporary benefit despite negative longer-term consequences. xii This can lead to adolescents making decisions based on short-term gain, lower appreciation of long-term risks, and interference with focus on tasks that require concentration.

• Infinite scroll is particularly risky for youth since their ability to monitor and stop engagement on social media is more limited than among adults. xiii This contributes to youths’ difficulty disengaging from social media and may contribute to high rates of youth reporting symptoms of clinical dependency on social media. xiv
• The lack of time limits on social media use similarly is challenging for youth, particularly during the school day or at times when they should be doing homework. xv
• Push notifications capitalize on youths’ sensitivity to distraction. Task-shifting is a higher order cognitive ability not fully developed until early adulthood and may interfere with youths’ focus during class time and when they should be doing homework. xvi
• The use and retention of youths’ data without appropriate parental consent, and/or child assent in developmentally appropriate language, capitalizes on youths’ relatively poor appreciation for long-term consequences of their actions, permanence of online content, or their ability to weigh the risks of their engagement on social media. xvii

Reliance on sleep for healthy brain development

Other than the first year of life, puberty is the most important period of brain growth and reorganization in our lifetimes. xviii Sleep is essential for healthy brain development and mental health in adolescence. xix Sleep delay or disruptions have significant negative effects on youths’ attention, behavior, mood, safety, and academic performance.

• A lack of limits on the time of day when youth can use social media has been cited as the predominant reason why adolescents are getting less than the recommended amount of sleep, with significant implications for brain and mental health. xx

Vulnerability to malicious actors

Youth are easily deceived by predators and other malicious actors who may attempt to interact with them on social media channels. xxi

• Connection and direct messaging with adult strangers places youth at risk of identity theft and potentially dangerous interactions, including sexploitation.

Need for parental/caregiver partnership

Research indicates that youth benefit from parental support to guide them toward safe decisions and to help them understand and appropriately respond to complex social interactions. xxii Granting parents oversight of youths’ accounts should be offered in balance with adolescents’ needs for autonomy, privacy, and independence. However, it should be easier for parents to partner with youth online in a manner that fits their family’s needs.

• The absence of transparent and easy-to-use parental/caregiver tools increases parents’ or guardians’ difficulty in supporting youths’ experience on social media. xxiii

Health advisory on social media use in adolescence

Related topics

• Social media and the internet
• Mental health

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A path forward based on science

Change is needed soon. Solutions should reflect a greater understanding of the science in at least three ways.

First, youth vary considerably in how they use social media. Some uses may promote healthy development and others may create harm. As noted in the APA health advisory , using social media is not inherently beneficial or harmful to young people. The effects of social media depend not only on what teens can do and see online, but teens’ pre-existing strengths or vulnerabilities, and the contexts in which they grow up.

Second, science has highlighted biological and psychological abilities/vulnerabilities that interact with the content, functions, and features built into social media platforms, and it is these aspects of youths’ social media experience that must be addressed to attenuate risks. xxiv Social media use, functionality, and permissions/consenting should be tailored to youths’ developmental capabilities. Design features created for adults may not be appropriate for children.

Third, youth are adept at working around age restrictions. Substantial data reveal a remarkable number of children aged 12 years and younger routinely using social media, indicating that current policies and practices to restrict use to older youth are not working. xxv

Policies will not protect youth unless technology companies are required to reduce the risks embedded within the platforms themselves.

As policymakers at every level assess their approach to this complex issue, it is important to note the limitations of frequently proposed policies, which are often misreported and fall far short of comprehensive safety solutions that will achieve meaningful change.

Restricting downloads

Restricting application downloads at the device level does not fully restrict youths’ access and will not meaningfully improve the safety of social media platforms. Allowing platforms to delegate responsibility to app stores does not address the vulnerabilities and harms built into the platforms.

Requiring age restrictions

Focusing only on age restrictions does not improve the platforms or address the biological and psychological vulnerabilities that persist past age 18. While age restriction proposals could offer some benefits if effectively and equitably implemented, they do not represent comprehensive improvements to social media platforms, for at least four reasons:

• Creating a bright line age limit ignores individual differences in adolescents’ maturity and competency
• These proposals fail to mitigate the harms for those above the age limit and can lead to a perception that social media is safe for adolescents above the threshold age, though neurological changes continue until age 25
• Completely limiting access to social media may disadvantage those who are experiencing psychological benefits from social media platforms, such as community support and access to science-based resources, which particularly impact those in marginalized populations
• The process of age-verification requires more thoughtful consideration to ensure that the storage of official identification documents does not systematically exclude subsets of youth, create risks for leaks, or circumvent the ability of young people to maintain anonymity on social platforms.

Use of parental controls

Granting parents and caregivers greater access to their children’s social media accounts will not address risks embedded within platforms themselves. More robust and easy-to-use parental controls would help some younger age groups, but as a sole strategy, this approach ignores the complexities of adolescent development, the importance of childhood autonomy and privacy, and disparities in time or resources available for monitoring across communities. xxvi

[Related: Keeping teens safe on social media: What parents should know to protect their kids ]

Some parents might be technologically ill-equipped, lack the time or documentation to complete requirements, or simply be unavailable to complete these requirements. Disenfranchising some young people from these platforms creates inequities. xxvii

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1 These recommendations enact policies and resolutions approved by the APA Council of Representatives including the APA Resolution on Child and Adolescent Mental and Behavioral Health and the APA Resolution on Dismantling Systemic Racism in contexts including social media. These are not professional practice guidelines but are intended to provide information based on psychological science.

2 This report seeks to elaborate on extant psychological science findings, which may be particularly relevant in the creation of policy solutions that protect young people, and to inform the development of social media safety standards.

Recommendations from APA’s health advisory on social media use in adolescence

• Youth using social media should be encouraged to use functions that create opportunities for social support, online companionship, and emotional intimacy that can promote healthy socialization.
• Social media use, functionality, and permissions/consenting should be tailored to youths’ developmental capabilities; designs created for adults may not be appropriate for children.
• In early adolescence (i.e., typically 10–14 years), adult monitoring (i.e., ongoing review, discussion, and coaching around social media content) is advised for most youths’ social media use; autonomy may increase gradually as kids age and if they gain digital literacy skills. However, monitoring should be balanced with youths’ appropriate needs for privacy.
• To reduce the risks of psychological harm, adolescents’ exposure to content on social media that depicts illegal or psychologically maladaptive behavior, including content that instructs or encourages youth to engage in health-risk behaviors, such as self-harm (e.g., cutting, suicide), harm to others, or those that encourage eating-disordered behavior (e.g., restrictive eating, purging, excessive exercise) should be minimized, reported, and removed; moreover, technology should not drive users to this content.
• To minimize psychological harm, adolescents’ exposure to “cyberhate” including online discrimination, prejudice, hate, or cyberbullying especially directed toward a marginalized group (e.g., racial, ethnic, gender, sexual, religious, ability status), or toward an individual because of their identity or allyship with a marginalized group should be minimized.
• Adolescents should be routinely screened for signs of “problematic social media use” that can impair their ability to engage in daily roles and routines, and may present risk for more serious psychological harms over time.
• The use of social media should be limited so as to not interfere with adolescents’ sleep and physical activity.
• Adolescents should limit use of social media for social comparison, particularly around beauty- or appearance-related content.
• Adolescents’ social media use should be preceded by training in social media literacy to ensure that users have developed psychologically-informed competencies and skills that will maximize the chances for balanced, safe, and meaningful social media use.
• Substantial resources should be provided for continued scientific examination of the positive and negative effects of social media on adolescent development.

Acknowledgments

We wish to acknowledge the outstanding contributions to this report made by the following individuals:

Expert advisory panel

Mary Ann McCabe, PhD, ABPP, member-at-large, Board of Directors, American Psychological Association; associate clinical professor of pediatrics, The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences

Mitchell J. Prinstein, PhD, ABPP, chief science officer, American Psychological Association; John Van Seters Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Mary K. Alvord, PhD, founder, Alvord, Baker & Associates; board president, Resilience Across Borders; adjunct associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences

Dawn T. Bounds, PhD, PMHNP-BC, FAAN, assistant professor, Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing, University of California, Irvine

Linda Charmaraman, PhD, senior research scientist, Wellesley Centers for Women, Wellesley College

Sophia Choukas-Bradley, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh

Dorothy L. Espelage, PhD, William C. Friday Distinguished Professor of Education, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Joshua A. Goodman, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Psychology, Southern Oregon University

Jessica L. Hamilton, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Psychology, Rutgers University

Brendesha M. Tynes, PhD, Dean’s Professor of Educational Equity, University of Southern California

L. Monique Ward, PhD, professor, Department of Psychology (Developmental), University of Michigan

Lucía Magis-Weinberg, MD, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Psychology, University of Washington

We also wish to acknowledge the contributions to this report made by Katherine B. McGuire, chief advocacy officer, and Corbin Evans, JD, senior director of congressional and federal relations, American Psychological Association.

Selected references

i Maza, M. T., Fox, K. A., Kwon, S. J., Flannery, J. E., Lindquist, K. A., Prinstein, M. J., & Telzer, E. H. (2023). Association of habitual checking behaviors on social media with longitudinal functional brain development. JAMA Pediatrics , 177 (2), 160–167; Prinstein, M. J., Nesi, J., & Telzer, E. H. (2020). Commentary: An updated agenda for the study of digital media use and adolescent development—Future directions following Odgers & Jensen (2020). Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry , 61 (3), 349–352. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13219

ii Nesi, J., Choukas-Bradley, S., & Prinstein, M. J. (2018). Transformation of adolescent peer relations in the social media context: Part 1—A theoretical framework and application to dyadic peer relationships. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review , 21 (3), 267–294. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-018-0261-x

iii Valkenburg, P. M., & Peter, J. (2013). The differential susceptibility to media effects model. Journal of Communication , 63 (2), 221–243. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcom.12024

iv Fareri, D. S., Martin, L. N., & Delgado, M. R. (2008). Reward-related processing in the human brain: Developmental considerations. Development and Psychopathology , 20 (4), 1191–1211; Somerville, L. H., & Casey, B. J. (2010). Developmental neurobiology of cognitive control and motivational systems. Current Opinion in Neurobiology , 20 (2), 236–241. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conb.2010.01.006

v Shin, D. (2020). How do users interact with algorithm recommender systems? The interaction of users, algorithms, and performance. Computers in Human Behavior , 109 , 106344. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2020.106344

vi Sherman, L. E., Payton, A. A., Hernandez, L. M., Greenfield, P. M., & Dapretto, M. (2016). The power of the Like in adolescence: Effects of peer influence on neural and behavioral responses to social media. Psychological Science , 27 (7), 1027–1035. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797616645673

vii Albert, D., Chein, J., & Steinberg, L. (2013). The teenage brain: Peer influences on adolescent decision making. Current Directions in Psychological Science , 22 (2), 114–120. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721412471347

viii Armstrong-Carter, E., & Telzer, E. H. (2021). Advancing measurement and research on youths’ prosocial behavior in the digital age. Child Development Perspectives , 15 (1), 31–36. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12396 ; Newcomb, A. F., & Bagwell, C. L. (1995). Children’s friendship relations: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin , 117 (2), 306.

ix Nesi, J., & Prinstein, M. J. (2019). In search of likes: Longitudinal associations between adolescents’ digital status seeking and health-risk behaviors. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology , 48 (5), 740–748. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2018.1437733 ; Rotondi, V., Stanca, L., & Tomasuolo, M. (2017). Connecting alone: Smartphone use, quality of social interactions and well-being. Journal of Economic Psychology , 63 , 17–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2017.09.001

x Sherman, L. E., Payton, A. A., Hernandez, L. M., Greenfield, P. M., & Dapretto, M. (2016). The power of the Like in adolescence: Effects of peer influence on neural and behavioral responses to social media. Psychological Science , 27 (7), 1027–1035. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797616645673

xi Susi, K., Glover-Ford, F., Stewart, A., Knowles Bevis, R., & Hawton, K. (2023). Research review: Viewing self-harm images on the internet and social media platforms: Systematic review of the impact and associated psychological mechanisms. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry , 64 (8), 1115–1139.

xii Hartley, C. A., & Somerville, L. H. (2015). The neuroscience of adolescent decision-making. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences , 5 , 108–115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2015.09.004

xiii Atherton, O. E., Lawson, K. M., & Robins, R. W. (2020). The development of effortful control from late childhood to young adulthood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 119 (2), 417–456. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000283

xiv Boer, M., Stevens, G. W., Finkenauer, C., & Van den Eijnden, R. J. (2022). The course of problematic social media use in young adolescents: A latent class growth analysis. Child Development , 93 (2), e168–e187.

xv Hall, A. C. G., Lineweaver, T. T., Hogan, E. E., & O’Brien, S. W. (2020). On or off task: The negative influence of laptops on neighboring students’ learning depends on how they are used. Computers & Education , 153 , 103901. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2020.103901 ; Sana, F., Weston, T., & Cepeda, N. J. (2013). Laptop multitasking hinders classroom learning for both users and nearby peers. Computers & Education , 62 , 24–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2012.10.003

xvi von Bastian, C. C., & Druey, M. D. (2017). Shifting between mental sets: An individual differences approach to commonalities and differences of task switching components. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General , 146 (9), 1266–1285. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000333

xvii Andrews, J. C., Walker, K. L., & Kees, J. (2020). Children and online privacy protection: Empowerment from cognitive defense strategies. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing , 39 (2), 205–219. https://doi.org/10.1177/0743915619883638 ; Romer D. (2010). Adolescent risk taking, impulsivity, and brain development: Implications for prevention. Developmental Psychobiology , 52 (3), 263–276. https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.20442

xviii Orben, A., Przybylski, A. K., Blakemore, S.-J., Kievit, R. A. (2022). Windows of developmental sensitivity to social media. Nature Communications , 13 (1649). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-29296-3

xix Paruthi, S., Brooks, L. J., D’Ambrosio, C., Hall, W. A., Kotagal, S., Lloyd, R. M., Malow, B. A., Maski, K., Nichols, C., Quan, S. F., Rosen, C. L., Troester, M. M., & Wise, M. S. (2016). Recommended amount of sleep for pediatric populations: A consensus statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine , 12 (6), 785–786. https://doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.5866

xx Perrault, A. A., Bayer, L., Peuvrier, M., Afyouni, A., Ghisletta, P., Brockmann, C., Spiridon, M., Hulo Vesely, S., Haller, D. M., Pichon, S., Perrig, S., Schwartz, S., & Sterpenich, V. (2019). Reducing the use of screen electronic devices in the evening is associated with improved sleep and daytime vigilance in adolescents. Sleep , 42 (9), zsz125. https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsz125 ; Telzer, E. H., Goldenberg, D., Fuligni, A. J., Lieberman, M. D., & Gálvan, A. (2015). Sleep variability in adolescence is associated with altered brain development. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience , 14, 16–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2015.05.007

xxi Livingstone, S., & Smith, P. K. (2014). Annual research review: Harms experienced by child users of online and mobile technologies: The nature, prevalence and management of sexual and aggressive risks in the digital age. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry , 55 (6), 635–654. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12197 ; Wolak, J., Finkelhor, D., Mitchell, K. J., & Ybarra, M. L. (2008). Online “predators” and their victims: Myths, realities, and implications for prevention and treatment. American Psychologist , 63 (2), 111–128. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.63.2.111

xxii Wachs, S., Costello, M., Wright, M. F., Flora, K., Daskalou, V., Maziridou, E., Kwon, Y., Na, E.-Y., Sittichai, R., Biswal, R., Singh, R., Almendros, C., Gámez-Guadix, M., Görzig, A., & Hong, J. S. (2021). “DNT LET ’EM H8 U!”: Applying the routine activity framework to understand cyberhate victimization among adolescents across eight countries. Computers & Education , 160 , Article 104026. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2020.104026 ; Padilla-Walker, L. M., Stockdale, L. A., & McLean, R. D. (2020). Associations between parental media monitoring, media use, and internalizing symptoms during adolescence. Psychology of Popular Media , 9 (4), 481. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000256

xxiii Dietvorst, E., Hiemstra, M., Hillegers, M. H. J., & Keijsers, L. (2018). Adolescent perceptions of parental privacy invasion and adolescent secrecy: An illustration of Simpson’s paradox. Child Development , 89 (6), 2081–2090. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13002 ; Auxier, B. (2020, July 28). Parenting Children in the Age of Screens. Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech; Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2020/07/28/parenting-children-in-the-age-of-screens/

xxiv National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2024). Social media and adolescent health . The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/27396

xxv Charmaraman, L., Lynch, A. D., Richer, A. M., & Zhai, E. (2022). Examining early adolescent positive and negative social technology behaviors and well-being during the Covid -19 pandemic. Technology, Mind, and Behavior , 3 (1), Feb 17 2022. https://doi.org/10.1037/tmb0000062

xxvi Dietvorst, E., Hiemstra, M., Hillegers, M.H.J., & Keijsers, L. (2018). Adolescent perceptions of parental privacy invasion and adolescent secrecy: An illustration of Simpson’s paradox. Child Development , 89 (6), 2081–2090. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13002

xxvii Charmaraman, L., Lynch, A. D., Richer, A. M., & Zhai, E. (2022). Examining early adolescent positive and negative social technology behaviors and well-being during the Covid -19 pandemic. Technology, Mind, and Behavior , 3 (1), Feb 17 2022. https://doi.org/10.1037/tmb0000062

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Study highlights importance of social media influencers in information dissemination during mpox outbreak

by Meredith Bauer, University of Florida

A recent study shows social media influencers are more important than previously thought when it comes to getting out vital information in a crisis.

The study suggested partnerships that could improve public communication between governments, non-profits and social media influencers during crises.

The study, conducted by UF/IFAS assistant professor Kimberly Kay Wiley, a researcher in the family, youth and community sciences department, and Bridgewater State University associate professor Seth Meyer, shows how these groups can collaborate to effectively disseminate information and manage public health emergencies on social media.

"In this case, the informal public health authorities seem to be able to reach the at-risk audiences and build on the trust that they have in a way that the formal health authorities just weren't able to do," Wiley said. "There are strong partnership opportunities here."

The study, titled "A Framework for Messy Communication: A Qualitative Study of Competing Voices of Authority on Social Media," explores social media communication during the 2022 mpox outbreak. It was published in Administrative Sciences .

By analyzing 1,392 social media posts from governments, non-profits and influencers across six platforms, the researchers identified how these groups could improve their reach and impact.

One of the central findings of the study is the importance of partnerships with non-traditional allies. Governments and non-profits can significantly enhance their communication efforts by partnering with influencers who are trusted by specific communities—in this case, the LGBTQIA+ community. This approach allows for a more targeted strategy to get the word out to hard-to-reach groups, particularly to isolated or minority groups that may be more vulnerable during crises.

Non-profits can tailor messages to address specific needs and concerns, while influencers, with their broad reach, trusted relationships with their followers and engaging content, can amplify these messages to a wider audience.

During the 2022 mpox outbreak, the study found, the most successful communication strategies were those that used partnerships to manage a rocky start. Initially, there was a vacuum of information from official sources such as governments, leading to confusion and misinformation.

However, as governments began to collaborate with influencers, the messaging became more organized and audience-specific. These findings highlight the need for proper planning and for groups to set up partnerships before a crisis happens.

The researchers also emphasized the importance of trust in these public-private partnerships. Influencers, in particular, must be selected based on their credibility and reliability to ensure that the information they disseminate is accurate and helpful. At the same time, influencers need the freedom to frame messaging for their audiences, even when it falls outside of a government 's branded social media approach.

"Formal health authorities can step in with resources and evidence-based action steps, but influencer partnerships can reach specific communities with the right messaging and get right into their social media feeds," Wiley said.

Provided by University of Florida

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Internal Documents Expose How Trump Fooled Investors on Truth Social

Donald trump promised potential investors in his media company that they would see massive revenue. he has not delivered..

Donald Trump’s media company initially presented some grandiose projections to attract potential shareholders. Cut to two years later, and those projections have proved to be completely misleading, according to a Meidas Touch report published Friday. 

The original pitch deck that Trump Media & Technology Group showed to its investors in 2022, including “hundreds of thousands of retail shareholders,” per CEO Devin Nunes, contained some pretty fantastical numbers. The company projected revenue of $114 million in 2023, which would then balloon to $835 million in 2024. 

The reality of Trump’s struggling stock couldn’t live up to the fantasy that was promised.

In 2023, TMTG’s revenue was only $4.1 million, and the company reported a loss of more than $58 million. The projection fed to investors was off by a whopping $110 million—and that was before the election cycle had even really begun. Since then, things have become even more dire.  

Since spiking around the Republican National Convention, the value of Truth Social stock has steadily declined. Shares of Trump’s media stock have often corresponded with how well investors think Trump’s presidential campaign is going, according to The New York Times . 

The company’s current state is a far cry from the massive jump it was projected to make this year. By the end of the second quarter of 2024, TMTG had only taken in $836,000 and reported losses of $343 million. 

Trump’s majority stake in the company, which is 115 million shares, a roughly 60 percent stake, was once worth a whopping $6 billion. Now it’s worth only $2 billion.

TMTG stock has continued to crater this week, as it hit its lowest value since it became publicly traded, closing beneath $17 on Wednesday. 

Trump Says He Doesn’t Need Votes Again—With a Weird New Twist

Donald trump indicated he only wants loyalists in his camp..

Donald Trump apparently doesn’t care whether or not he wins in November anymore.

At a Fox News town hall on Thursday, the Republican presidential nominee revealed that his 2024 campaign strategy excludes anyone who he doesn’t believe supported him in the last election cycles.

Responding to a question from Sean Hannity about the economy, Trump spun a thread about a would-be supporter in the Republican primary who hadn’t voted for him before.

“One person who didn’t support me—he said, ‘I must admit I had the most successful four years of my life but I’m gonna vote for some—’ and now that person came back to me. I don’t want that person,” Trump said to muffled applause. “I don’t want that person.

“You know, they say you should take everybody, but that’s not the way I’m built. It’s one of those little problems,” he added.

"They say you should take everybody, but that's not the way I'm built" --Trump says he doesn't want voters who didn't support him in 2020 pic.twitter.com/xtIX7omoao — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 6, 2024

It’s not the first time Trump has attempted to wash his hands of the labor required to win a fair election. Speaking in Detroit in June, Trump said of his campaign, “We don’t need [the] votes,” and “We got more votes than anybody’s ever had.” Instead, he argued that the campaign needed to “guard the vote” in anticipation of a “steal.”

Failing to draw more voters to his cause would, frankly, prove to be a huge problem for Trump, who finally admitted earlier this week that he actually did lose the 2020 election. The former president lost to President Joe Biden by more than seven million votes.

Neglecting to court those voters would surely spell disaster for his chances in November, especially during a fresher election season that has drawn renewed energy since Vice President Kamala Harris has taken over the Democratic ticket—though Trump may not understand the depth of the problem. While Trump’s support levels have held steady, Harris’s have slowly grown, indicating that she is picking up crucial undecided voters.

Later in the town hall, Trump made an outlandishly hyperbolic statement about his support around the country while discussing the September 10 debate on ABC News, arguing that the network better “be fair” to him or else it would alienate “75, 80 percent of the country.”

Watch: Marco Rubio Brushes Off MAGA Role in Huge Russian Disinfo Plot

The florida senator says that massive russian propaganda scheme wasn’t a big deal, actually..

Senator Marco Rubio doesn’t think that Russia paying off right-wing influencers is a big deal.

The ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was asked on Fox News Thursday about the Justice Department revelation that several conservative commentators were paid by assets of the Russian government to produce propaganda and disinformation. Rubio defended the influencers, calling them “victims.”

“We are talking about preexisting political opinions in the United States. These are preexisting political opinions that have existed well before any Russian engagement or involvement or what have you,” Rubio said to Sean Hannity. “These people that they say that were being funded by the secret donor that was hiding their true identity, they already had these opinions, they already believed in these things.”

“They legitimately believe in the views that they’re espousing,” Rubio added . “They were victims, they were targets of a fraud in which someone posing as just a regular investor had Russian money behind them.”

Marco Rubio downplays Russia paying prominent rightwing influencers because "we're talking about preexisting political opinions in the United States ... they legitimately believe in the views they're espousing. They were victims." pic.twitter.com/HGgnyJSLmG — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 6, 2024

Rubio is joining his fellow conservatives in defending the commentators at Tenet Media, which the DOJ revealed Wednesday was secretly funded by Russian state media employees in “a scheme to create and distribute content to U.S. audiences with hidden Russian government messaging.” These influencers included Tim Pool, Dave Rubin, Lauren Chen, and Benny Johnson. One right-wing media organization, Blaze Media, has already fired Chen as a result of the indictment.

Not surprisingly, these commentators described themselves as victims in the scheme, a point that was not only echoed by Rubio, but also by MAGA Republicans like Representative Matt Gaetz, pundit Ben Shapiro, and even Donald Trump. But, how do they explain that these “preexisting ideas” popular among Republicans right now seem to be exactly what Vladimir Putin’s government wanted to fund?

Previous Russian operations in the United States appear to have been aimed at promoting conflict and discord to undermine faith in the country’s institutions, such as the electoral process, and promote foreign policy favorable to Russia . It stands to reason that funding conservative influencers had similar aims. Right-wing figures like Rubio, Trump (whose political rise has been very useful to Putin ), and Gaetz have to ask themselves if the ideas they’re espousing can really be good for America if Putin himself wants to put money behind them.

Unsealed FBI Doc Exposes Terrifying Depth of Russian Disinfo Scheme

New court documents reveal that russia is keeping a very, very long list of influencers to spread its propaganda..

The Russian disinformation plot revealed in a Justice Department indictment this week may just be the tip of the iceberg, according to newly unsealed court documents.

On Wednesday, the DOJ announced it would seize 32 internet domains linked to a larger Kremlin scheme to promote disinformation and influence the 2024 election. The Russian campaign, known as Doppelganger, uses AI-generated content to create “fake news” boosted through social media with the aim of electing Donald Trump.

“Today’s announcement exposes the scope of the Russian government’s influence operations and their reliance on cutting-edge AI to sow disinformation,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement about the charges. According to records, the plan was well known at even the highest levels of the Russian government—and Russian President Vladimir Putin himself may have been aware of the campaign.

Of particular note, the documents released Wednesday included an affidavit that noted a Russian company is keeping a list of more than 2,800 influencers world wide, about one-fifth of whom are based in the United States, to monitor and potentially groom to spread Russian propaganda. The affidavit does not mention the full list of influencers, but is still a terrifying indicator of how deep the Russian plot to interfere in U.S. politics really goes.

The Doppelganger program and its “Good Old USA Project” aimed to mimic mainstream media outlets to push pro-Russian policies through fake social media accounts. Documents show that the Kremlin specifically targeted Trump supporters, minorities, gamers, and swing-state voters by spreading far-right conspiracies and capitalizing on existing divisions in U.S. politics.

​​”They are afraid of losing the American way of life and the ‘American dream,’” Ilya Gambashidze, an architect of the project, wrote, outlining his scheme. “It is these sentiments that should be exploited in the course of an information campaign in/for the United States.” To do so, the Russian government would emphasize that Republicans are “victims of discrimination of people of color” and promote conspiracies that white middle-class people are being discriminated against.

The “guerrilla media” plan needed to not only plant falsehoods, but also spread them far and wide. They targeted gamers and chatroom users, who they described as the “backbone of the right-wing trends in the US segment of the Internet,” and monitored social media influencers. The Russians planned to build relationships with prolific posters who were “proponents of traditional values, who stand up for ending the war in Ukraine and peaceful relations between the US and Russia, and who are ready to get involved in the promotion of the project narratives.”

“We need influencers! A lot of them and everywhere. We are ready to wine and dine them,” wrote Gambashidze in a note from a meeting with Russian government officials.

Though this specific campaign has no official link with recent findings about Tenet Media’s work with Russian state media network RT, the goals are the same: “To secure victory for [Donald Trump].”

Watch: Cowardly J.D. Vance Calls School Shootings a “Fact of Life”

Vance, who has repeatedly opposed gun control measures, seems to think that school shootings are simply inevitable..

J.D. Vance completely fumbled his response to Wednesday’s mass shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia, in which he resigned to school shootings as a bleak “fact of life.”

“Now look, the Kamala Harris answer to this is to take law-abiding citizens’ guns away from them. That is what Kamala Harris wants to do,” Vance said during a rally Thursday in Arizona.

“Look, I don’t like this. I don’t like to admit this. I don’t like that this is a fact of life,” Vance said. “But if you’re—if you are a psycho and you want to make headlines, you’d realize that our schools are soft targets.”

“We’ve got to bolster security so that if a psycho wants to walk through the front door and kill a bunch of children, they’re not able to,” Vance said, sharing his fatalistic view of what are entirely avoidable tragedies. There is just no way to prevent young people from committing gross acts of violence with tools that the government already supposedly regulates. Just no way!

JD Vance responds to the deadly shooting in Georgia by saying school shootings are just “a fact of life” and attacking common sense gun safety reform pic.twitter.com/ISNRuXneg6 — Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) September 6, 2024

Vance’s limp policy idea imagines public schools as the only venue for a mass shooting—increased security there would not prevent, say, a shooting at a university campus, church, grocery store, mall, or really anywhere else. Plus, even he admitted he didn’t like the idea of beefed up security around his children.

“And again, as a parent, do I want my school to have additional security? No, of course I don’t,” Vance said. Then why did he just pitch it? “I don’t want my kids to go to school in a place where they feel like they’ve got to have additional security. But that is increasingly the reality that we live in.”

Vance’s cynical response to the deadly shooting, which killed four people and injured nine others, is particularly grim in light of Kamala Harris’s response : “It doesn’t have to be this way.”

New Details Expose True Disaster of Trump’s Arlington Cemetery Fight

One of the two staffers involved is a deputy campaign manager for donald trump’s presidential bid..

The fallout from last week’s Arlington National Cemetery fight is still plaguing the Trump campaign.

The Trump staffers reportedly involved in accosting a cemetery official are Justin Caporale, a deputy campaign manager for Donald Trump’s reelection bid, and Michel Picard, a member of Trump’s advance team, NPR reported Thursday evening.

Caporale had previously worked under former First Lady Melania Trump, and served under Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as director of external affairs, according to the Tampa Bay Times . Caporale was also listed as an on-site contact during the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. He was, at the time, a project manager for the Women for America First rally, before some of the crowd stormed into the halls of Congress.

Trump’s decision to film at the military graveyard—and in Section 60, where recent military casualties are buried—violated federal law, which prohibits politically related activities in the cemetery such as taking photos and videos in support of a political campaign. The criminal behavior sparked a verbal and physical fight between Trump’s surrogates and an Arlington National Cemetery official who attempted to rein in the politico’s videotaping.

The Trump campaign claimed that they had been given permission to videotape by the families of fallen service members, but unfortunately for Trump, that doesn’t change federal law. In a rare statement last week, the Army said that it considered the case closed but sided with the cemetery official, writing that they believed the official had been “abruptly pushed aside” and “unfairly attacked” by Trump staffers.

Trump has even begun this week to insist the fight did not happen at all, making the involvement of a senior campaign staffer all the more damaging. Trump’s campaign has repeatedly promised to release video exonerating both him and his staffers, but no video has appeared.

The Republican presidential nominee’s anti-military rhetoric has been a point of contention with current and former service members in recent weeks. In August, the reputed Vietnam-era draft dodger came under fire for arguing that the Presidential Medal of Freedom he awarded to one of his billionaire donors was “much better” than the nation’s highest military honor, the Medal of Honor. That comment struck a nerve with veterans, who connected Trump’s disrespectful rhetoric to a 2020 Atlantic report that caught the former president repeatedly referring to fallen soldiers as “suckers and losers.”

GOP Lawmaker Warns This Election Is Going to Be Rough for Republicans

Representative tony gonzalez knows his party is in deep trouble this november..

The Republican Party is in trouble this election, and may lose its majority in the House of Representatives—so says Texas Representative Tony Gonzalez, a Republican himself.

Speaking at the Texas Tribune Festival on Thursday, the congressman said he believed the party would lose in November due its own actions.

“What’s frustrating me is I firmly believe that House Republicans are going to lose the majority—and we’re going to lose it because of ourselves,” Gonzales said.

Gonzalez said that a culture of blame had taken hold of his party, as well as the Democrats, pointing to a cycle of oversight hearings opposed to whichever party was in power.

“It’s not rocket science here. You know the economy, it’s really real. I mean, more and more middle-class Americans are falling further and further behind in access to quality health care,” said Gonzalez. “Are we talking about this? Are we talking about some of these kind of kitchen table issues? No—it’s all about who we’re going to impeach.”

Gonzalez was censured by the Texas state Republican Party earlier this year for voting for gun safety legislation, and increasing same-sex marriage protections. He also directed some of his criticism toward Democrats, who failed to break through for a major victory in the state.

“Texas Democrats are failing to deliver the message. They are stuck in all-or-nothing, and guess what? They’re getting nothing,” Gonzalez said. “That works out well for Republicans.”

Texas Democrats “haven’t evolved into going, ‘How do I win a race? How do I deliver a message for the general population, and not just my base?’” Gonzalez added. “And anytime you get stuck in that, you’re going to lose.”

Gonzalez hasn’t shied away from criticizing his party in the past, attacking Representative Matt Gaetz for “paying minors to have sex with them at drug parties” and Representative Bob Good for endorsing his opponent, “a known neo-Nazi,” in a CNN interview in April.

“These people used to walk around with white hoods at night. Now they’re walking around with white hoods in the daytime,” Gonzalez said at the time.

The Texas congressman isn’t the only member of his party who has been critical of the GOP’s lack of results recently. Last November, Representative Chip Roy yelled at his colleagues for failing to accomplish anything significant, and in January, Representative Andy Biggs complained on Newsmax that his party has accomplished “nothing” since winning control of the House in 2022.

Gonzalez isn’t likely to win over many of his colleagues, though: The National Republican Congressional Committee immediately issued a statement saying that they “disagree” with him.

Trump Makes Shocking Promise After Ex-Adviser Charged in Russia Scheme

One of donald trump’s former campaign advisers was just charged over his work for russian state media. but trump doesn’t seem to care..

Hours after the Justice Department announced it is charging a former Trump adviser over his work with Russian media, Donald Trump made a shocking promise: He’ll lift U.S. sanctions on Russia.

The Justice Department on Thursday charged Trump’s 2016 campaign adviser Dimitri Simes, as well as his wife, Anastasia, for working with a sanctioned Russian state television network and laundering the profit. According to the indictment, the couple received over $1 million, a personal car, and a driver for their work with Russia’s Channel One. (Simes, by the way, is mentioned over 100 times in the Mueller report, for his relationship with Trump allies like Jared Kushner.)

Given the news, when Trump took the stage at the Economic Club of New York on Thursday, the first question from the panel of business leaders was about Russian sanctions. H. Rodgin Cohen, senior chair of law firm Sullivan & Cromwell, asked the former president if he “would strengthen or modify any of these economic sanction programs, particularly Russia.”

Trump then went on a rant about the problems of sanctions, stating clearly, “I want to use sanctions as little as possible.”

Trump suggests he will lift US sanctions on Russia and Iran if he wins pic.twitter.com/oPRLRK4P77 — Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) September 5, 2024

“You’re losing Iran, you’re losing Russia. China is out there trying to get their currency to be the dominant currency,” he said, explaining that he believes sanctions of countries like Russia weaken the dollar. “There’s so much conflict with all these countries that you’re going to lose” the dominance of the dollar.

During his time in office, Trump imposed new sanctions on Iran and North Korea but was so reluctant to impose sanctions on Russia, despite election interference and its use of chemical weapons, that lawmakers had to force his hand . As he described to Cohen on Thursday, Trump was quick to take the punishment away. “I use sanctions very powerfully against countries who deserve it, then I take them off.”

The sanctions that Dimitri and Anastasia Simes violated were put in place “in response to Russia’s illegal aggression in Ukraine,” U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves said in a statement.

Thursday’s indictment comes on the heels of another Justice Department case charging two Russian state media employees in “a scheme to create and distribute content to U.S. audiences with hidden Russian government messaging.” Several prominent pro-Trump influencers were implicated in the case.

Watch: Trump Goes on Truly Incoherent Rant When Asked About Childcare

Try to make any sense of what trump said here..

Donald Trump couldn’t come up with a meaningful answer when asked about how he would make childcare affordable Thursday.

Speaking at the Economic Club of New York, the Republican presidential nominee gave a long, meandering answer to the question and didn’t even mention children or any possible solutions to the issue, even though he was asked what specific legislation he would pass.

“It’s a very important issue. But I think when you talk about the kind of numbers that I’m talking about that, because, look, childcare is childcare. It’s something you know you have to have it, in this country you have to have it,” Trump’s answer began, before he went off on a tangent about economic numbers.

“We’re going to be taking in trillions of dollars, and as much as childcare is talked about as being expensive, it’s, relatively speaking, not very expensive compared to the kind of numbers we’ll be taking in. We’re going to make this into an incredible country that can afford to take care of its people,” Trump added , still failing to actually answer the question.

Donald Trump’s answer on how he will make childcare more affordable: pic.twitter.com/Hwu7R5aIt6 — Acyn (@Acyn) September 5, 2024

Trump’s incoherent answer was somehow worse than the one his running mate, J.D. Vance, gave Wednesday at a Turning Point Action event in Arizona when asked a similar question. Vance told conservative pundit Charlie Kirk that he would suggest people turn to their family members to help with childcare, or, if family members were not available, to loosen education requirements for childcare workers.

Aside from the fact that these answers indicate that the ostensibly pro-family Republican Party has poor solutions to making childcare less expensive, they also show Trump’s increasing cognitive decline . He was asked a straightforward question on how he would make childcare less expensive and the specific legislation he would pursue to make that possible. Trump either had no interest in a coherent answer or wasn’t capable of providing one. Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign had a quick response.

“Billionaire-bought Donald Trump’s ‘plan’ for making child care more affordable is to impose a $3,900 tax hike on middle class families,” Harris campaign spokesperson Joseph Costello said in a statement. “The American people deserve a President who will actually cut costs for them, like Vice President Harris’ plan to bring back a $3,600 Child Tax Credit for working families and an expanded $6,000 tax cut for families with newborn children.”

Is Trump capable of presenting, or even understanding, substantive policy ideas? His apparent mental state says he is not, and media coverage seems to gloss over discussions about his condition. Perhaps the upcoming debate with Harris next week will finally expose him in front of a national audience.

Trump Says He’ll Give Elon Musk, Who Has Never Ruined Anything, a Job

Donald trump has tapped elon musk, who wrecked twitter in the name of cost-cutting, to run a task force aimed at cutting federal overspending..

X owner, Tesla chief, and SpaceX executive Elon Musk could pick up another role should Donald Trump win in November: leading a government efficiency task force.

The task force would have the authority to audit federal spending and regulations, and came at the recommendation of Musk himself, Trump said in remarks Thursday to the Economic Club of New York.

“At the suggestion of Elon Musk, who has given me his complete and total endorsement—that’s nice, a smart guy, he knows what he’s doing, he knows what he’s doing! It’s very much appreciated—I will create a government efficiency commission tasked with conducting a complete financial and performance audit of the entire federal government and making recommendations for drastic reforms,” Trump told the subdued crowd of business executives. “We need to do it. Can’t go on the way we are now.”

Trump says that Elon Musk has agreed to serve in his administration pic.twitter.com/yRV9u7usOk — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 5, 2024

According to Trump, the commission would develop a plan to “totally eliminate fraud and improper payments within six months,” aiming to slash trillions of dollars from the federal budget while promising not to alter government services. He did not identify any specific programs that could be slashed to save the cash, making budget experts from both parties very wary of the ambitious promise, according to The Washington Post ’s White House economics reporter Jeff Stein . The commission as a whole represents an apparent dig at spending under the Biden-Harris administration.

Musk and Trump have grown closer since the tech billionaire formally endorsed the Republican presidential nominee after an assassination attempt in July. That same month, Musk pledged to give $45 million a month to a pro-Trump super PAC (a promise he later walked back .) The pair also shared a long, sprawling talk on X in August (the details of which may have violated FEC regulations.)

Ahead of Trump’s speech, Musk took to X to confirm that he would be open to such a role.

“I look forward to serving America if the opportunity arises,” Musk wrote in a post . “No pay, no title, no recognition is needed.”

Musk had already previewed his potential federal job on Tuesday, tweeting that he “can’t wait” to take on a cust-cutting role. “There is a lot of waste and needless regulation in government that needs to go,” he warned.

But regardless of his enthusiasm, Musk’s previous attempts to rein in spending at his companies don’t bode well for the government should he take on such a role. After acquiring Twitter, Musk laid off roughly 75 percent of its staff—a decision that infuriated investors and ended up tanking the social media behemoth’s value by 90 percent, in Musk’s own words.