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Social media harms teens’ mental health, mounting evidence shows. what now.

Understanding what is going on in teens’ minds is necessary for targeted policy suggestions

Most teens use social media, often for hours on end. Some social scientists are confident that such use is harming their mental health. Now they want to pinpoint what explains the link.

Carol Yepes/Getty Images

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By Sujata Gupta

February 20, 2024 at 7:30 am

In January, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook’s parent company Meta, appeared at a congressional hearing to answer questions about how social media potentially harms children. Zuckerberg opened by saying: “The existing body of scientific work has not shown a causal link between using social media and young people having worse mental health.”

But many social scientists would disagree with that statement. In recent years, studies have started to show a causal link between teen social media use and reduced well-being or mood disorders, chiefly depression and anxiety.

Ironically, one of the most cited studies into this link focused on Facebook.

Researchers delved into whether the platform’s introduction across college campuses in the mid 2000s increased symptoms associated with depression and anxiety. The answer was a clear yes , says MIT economist Alexey Makarin, a coauthor of the study, which appeared in the November 2022 American Economic Review . “There is still a lot to be explored,” Makarin says, but “[to say] there is no causal evidence that social media causes mental health issues, to that I definitely object.”

The concern, and the studies, come from statistics showing that social media use in teens ages 13 to 17 is now almost ubiquitous. Two-thirds of teens report using TikTok, and some 60 percent of teens report using Instagram or Snapchat, a 2022 survey found. (Only 30 percent said they used Facebook.) Another survey showed that girls, on average, allot roughly 3.4 hours per day to TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, compared with roughly 2.1 hours among boys. At the same time, more teens are showing signs of depression than ever, especially girls ( SN: 6/30/23 ).

As more studies show a strong link between these phenomena, some researchers are starting to shift their attention to possible mechanisms. Why does social media use seem to trigger mental health problems? Why are those effects unevenly distributed among different groups, such as girls or young adults? And can the positives of social media be teased out from the negatives to provide more targeted guidance to teens, their caregivers and policymakers?

“You can’t design good public policy if you don’t know why things are happening,” says Scott Cunningham, an economist at Baylor University in Waco, Texas.

Increasing rigor

Concerns over the effects of social media use in children have been circulating for years, resulting in a massive body of scientific literature. But those mostly correlational studies could not show if teen social media use was harming mental health or if teens with mental health problems were using more social media.

Moreover, the findings from such studies were often inconclusive, or the effects on mental health so small as to be inconsequential. In one study that received considerable media attention, psychologists Amy Orben and Andrew Przybylski combined data from three surveys to see if they could find a link between technology use, including social media, and reduced well-being. The duo gauged the well-being of over 355,000 teenagers by focusing on questions around depression, suicidal thinking and self-esteem.

Digital technology use was associated with a slight decrease in adolescent well-being , Orben, now of the University of Cambridge, and Przybylski, of the University of Oxford, reported in 2019 in Nature Human Behaviour . But the duo downplayed that finding, noting that researchers have observed similar drops in adolescent well-being associated with drinking milk, going to the movies or eating potatoes.

Holes have begun to appear in that narrative thanks to newer, more rigorous studies.

In one longitudinal study, researchers — including Orben and Przybylski — used survey data on social media use and well-being from over 17,400 teens and young adults to look at how individuals’ responses to a question gauging life satisfaction changed between 2011 and 2018. And they dug into how the responses varied by gender, age and time spent on social media.

Social media use was associated with a drop in well-being among teens during certain developmental periods, chiefly puberty and young adulthood, the team reported in 2022 in Nature Communications . That translated to lower well-being scores around ages 11 to 13 for girls and ages 14 to 15 for boys. Both groups also reported a drop in well-being around age 19. Moreover, among the older teens, the team found evidence for the Goldilocks Hypothesis: the idea that both too much and too little time spent on social media can harm mental health.

“There’s hardly any effect if you look over everybody. But if you look at specific age groups, at particularly what [Orben] calls ‘windows of sensitivity’ … you see these clear effects,” says L.J. Shrum, a consumer psychologist at HEC Paris who was not involved with this research. His review of studies related to teen social media use and mental health is forthcoming in the Journal of the Association for Consumer Research.

Cause and effect

That longitudinal study hints at causation, researchers say. But one of the clearest ways to pin down cause and effect is through natural or quasi-experiments. For these in-the-wild experiments, researchers must identify situations where the rollout of a societal “treatment” is staggered across space and time. They can then compare outcomes among members of the group who received the treatment to those still in the queue — the control group.

That was the approach Makarin and his team used in their study of Facebook. The researchers homed in on the staggered rollout of Facebook across 775 college campuses from 2004 to 2006. They combined that rollout data with student responses to the National College Health Assessment, a widely used survey of college students’ mental and physical health.

The team then sought to understand if those survey questions captured diagnosable mental health problems. Specifically, they had roughly 500 undergraduate students respond to questions both in the National College Health Assessment and in validated screening tools for depression and anxiety. They found that mental health scores on the assessment predicted scores on the screenings. That suggested that a drop in well-being on the college survey was a good proxy for a corresponding increase in diagnosable mental health disorders. 

Compared with campuses that had not yet gained access to Facebook, college campuses with Facebook experienced a 2 percentage point increase in the number of students who met the diagnostic criteria for anxiety or depression, the team found.

When it comes to showing a causal link between social media use in teens and worse mental health, “that study really is the crown jewel right now,” says Cunningham, who was not involved in that research.

A need for nuance

The social media landscape today is vastly different than the landscape of 20 years ago. Facebook is now optimized for maximum addiction, Shrum says, and other newer platforms, such as Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok, have since copied and built on those features. Paired with the ubiquity of social media in general, the negative effects on mental health may well be larger now.

Moreover, social media research tends to focus on young adults — an easier cohort to study than minors. That needs to change, Cunningham says. “Most of us are worried about our high school kids and younger.” 

And so, researchers must pivot accordingly. Crucially, simple comparisons of social media users and nonusers no longer make sense. As Orben and Przybylski’s 2022 work suggested, a teen not on social media might well feel worse than one who briefly logs on. 

Researchers must also dig into why, and under what circumstances, social media use can harm mental health, Cunningham says. Explanations for this link abound. For instance, social media is thought to crowd out other activities or increase people’s likelihood of comparing themselves unfavorably with others. But big data studies, with their reliance on existing surveys and statistical analyses, cannot address those deeper questions. “These kinds of papers, there’s nothing you can really ask … to find these plausible mechanisms,” Cunningham says.

One ongoing effort to understand social media use from this more nuanced vantage point is the SMART Schools project out of the University of Birmingham in England. Pedagogical expert Victoria Goodyear and her team are comparing mental and physical health outcomes among children who attend schools that have restricted cell phone use to those attending schools without such a policy. The researchers described the protocol of that study of 30 schools and over 1,000 students in the July BMJ Open.

Goodyear and colleagues are also combining that natural experiment with qualitative research. They met with 36 five-person focus groups each consisting of all students, all parents or all educators at six of those schools. The team hopes to learn how students use their phones during the day, how usage practices make students feel, and what the various parties think of restrictions on cell phone use during the school day.

Talking to teens and those in their orbit is the best way to get at the mechanisms by which social media influences well-being — for better or worse, Goodyear says. Moving beyond big data to this more personal approach, however, takes considerable time and effort. “Social media has increased in pace and momentum very, very quickly,” she says. “And research takes a long time to catch up with that process.”

Until that catch-up occurs, though, researchers cannot dole out much advice. “What guidance could we provide to young people, parents and schools to help maintain the positives of social media use?” Goodyear asks. “There’s not concrete evidence yet.”

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Is social media use bad for young people’s mental health? It’s complicated.

July 17, 2023 – On May 23, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued an advisory warning about the potential dangers of social media for the mental health of children and teens . Laura Marciano , postdoctoral research fellow at the Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness and in the  Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, says that social media use might be detrimental for young people’s well-being but can also have positive effects.

Q: What are your thoughts on the Surgeon General’s advisory?

A: The advisory highlighted compelling evidence published during the last decade on the potential harmful impact of social media on children and adolescents. Some of what young people experience online—including cyberbullying, online harassment and abuse, predatory behaviors, and exposure to violent, sexual, and hate-based content—can undoubtedly be negative. But social media experiences are not limited to these types of content.

Much of the scientific literature on the effects of social media use has focused on negative outcomes. But the link between social media use and young people’s mental health is complicated. Literature reviews show that study results are mixed: Associations between social media use and well-being can be positive, negative, and even largely null when advanced data analyses are carried out, and the size of the effects is small. And positive and negative effects can co-exist in the same individual. We are still discovering how to compare the effect size of social media use with the effects of other behavioral habits—such as physical activity, sleep, food consumption, life events, and time spent in offline social connections—and psychological processes happening offline. We are also still studying how social media use may be linked positively with well-being.

It’s important to note that many of the existing studies relied on data from people living in so-called WEIRD countries (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich and Democratic), thus leaving out the majority of the worldwide population living in the Global South. In addition, we know that populations like minorities, people experiencing health disparities and chronic health conditions , and international students can find social media extremely helpful for creating and maintaining social communities to which they feel they belong.

A number of large cohort studies have measured social media use according to time spent on various platforms. But it’s important to consider not just time spent, but whether that time is displacing time for other activities promoting well-being, like physical activity and sleep. Finally, the effects of social media use are idiosyncratic, meaning that each child and adolescent might be affected differently, which makes it difficult to generalize about the effects.

Literature reviews on interventions limiting social media use present a more balanced picture. For example, one comprehensive review on the effects of digital detox—refraining from using devices such as smartphones—wasn’t able to draw any clear conclusions about whether such detox could be effective at promoting a healthy way of life in the digital era, because the findings were mixed and contradictory.

Q: What has your research found regarding the potential risks and benefits of social media use among young people?

A: In my work with Prof. Vish Viswanath , we have summarized all the papers on how social media use is related to positive well-being measures, to balance the ongoing bias of the literature on negative outcomes such as depression and anxiety. We found both positive and negative correlations between different social media activities and well-being. The most consistent results show a link between social media activities and hedonic well-being (positive emotions) and social well-being. We also found that social comparison—such as comparing how many likes you have with how many someone else has, or comparing yourself to digitally enhanced images online—drives the negative correlation with well-being.

Meanwhile, I am working on the “ HappyB ” project, a longitudinal project based in Switzerland, through which I have collected data from more than 1,500 adolescents on their smartphone and social media use and well-being. In a recent study using that cohort, we looked at how social media use affects flourishing , a construct that encompasses happiness, meaning and purpose, physical and mental health, character, close social relationships, and financial stability. We found that certain positive social media experiences are associated with flourishing. In particular, having someone to talk to online when feeling lonely was the item most related to well-being. That is not surprising, considering that happiness is related to the quality of social connections.

Our data suggest that homing in on the psychological processes triggered during social media use is key to determining links with well-being. For example, we should consider if a young person feels appreciated and part of a group in a particular online conversation. Such information can help us shed light on the dynamics that shape young people’s well-being through digital activities.

In our research, we work to account for the fact that social media time is a sedentary behavior. We need to consider that any behavior that risks diminishing the time spent on physical activity and sleep—crucial components of brain development and well-being—might be detrimental. Interestingly, some studies suggest that spending a short amount of time using social media, around 1-2 hours, is beneficial, but—as with any extreme behavior—it can cause harm if the time spent online dominates a child’s or adolescent’s day.

It’s also important to consider how long the effects of social media last. Social media use may have small ephemeral effects that can accumulate over time. A step for future research is to disentangle short- versus long-term effects and how long each last. In addition, we should better understand how digital media usage affects the adolescent brain. Colleagues and I have summarized existing neuroscientific studies on the topic, but more multidisciplinary research is needed.

Q: What are some steps you’d recommend to make social media use safer for kids?

A: I’ll use a metaphor to answer this question. Is a car safe for someone that is not able to drive? To drive safely, we need to learn how to accelerate, recognize road signs, make safe decisions according to certain rules, and wear safety belts. Similarly, to use social media safely, I think we as a society—including schools, educators, and health providers—should provide children and families with clear, science-based information on both its positive and negative potential impacts.

We can also ask social media companies to pay more attention to how some features—such as the number of “likes”—can modulate adolescent brain activity, and to think about ways to limit negative effects. We might even ask adolescents to advise designers on how to create social media platforms specifically for them. It would be extremely valuable to ask them which features would be best for them and which ones they would like to avoid. I think that co-designing apps and conducting research with the young people who use the platforms is a crucial step.

For parents, my suggestion is to communicate with your children and promote a climate of safety and empathy when it comes to social media use. Try to use these platforms along with them, for example by explaining how a platform works and commenting on the content. Also, I would encourage schools and parents to collaborate on sharing information with young people about social media and well-being.

Also, to offset children’s sedentary time spent on social media, parents could offer them alternative extracurricular activities to provide some balance. But it’s important to remember that social well-being depends on the quality of social connections, and that social media can help to promote this kind of well-being. So I’d recommend trying to keep what is good—according to my research that would include instant messaging, the chance to talk to people when someone is feeling lonely, and funny or inspirational content—and minimizing what’s negative, such as too much sedentary time or too much time spent on social comparison.

– Karen Feldscher

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Just How Harmful Is Social Media? Our Experts Weigh-In.

A recent investigation by the Wall Street Journal revealed that Facebook was aware of mental health risks linked to the use of its Instagram app but kept those findings secret. Internal research by the social media giant found that Instagram worsened body image issues for one in three teenage girls, and all teenage users of the app linked it to experiences of anxiety and depression. It isn’t the first evidence of social media’s harms. Watchdog groups have identified Facebook and Instagram as avenues for cyberbullying , and reports have linked TikTok to dangerous and antisocial behavior, including a recent spate of school vandalism .

As social media has proliferated worldwide—Facebook has 2.85 billion users—so too have concerns over how the platforms are affecting individual and collective wellbeing. Social media is criticized for being addictive by design and for its role in the spread of misinformation on critical issues from vaccine safety to election integrity, as well as the rise of right-wing extremism. Social media companies, and many users, defend the platforms as avenues for promoting creativity and community-building. And some research has pushed back against the idea that social media raises the risk for depression in teens . So just how healthy or unhealthy is social media?

Two experts from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and Columbia Psychiatry share their insights into one crucial aspect of social media’s influence—its effect on the mental health of young people and adults. Deborah Glasofer , associate professor of psychology in psychiatry, conducts psychotherapy development research for adults with eating disorders and teaches about cognitive behavioral therapy. She is the co-author of the book Eating Disorders: What Everyone Needs to Know. Claude Mellins , Professor of medical psychology in the Departments of Psychiatry and Sociomedical Sciences, studies wellbeing among college and graduate students, among other topics, and serves as program director of CopeColumbia, a peer support program for Columbia faculty and staff whose mental health has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. She co-led the SHIFT research study to reduce sexual violence among undergraduates. Both use social media.

What do we know about the mental health risks of social media use?

Mellins : Facebook and Instagram and other social media platforms are important sources of socialization and relationship-building for many young people. Although there are important benefits, social media can also provide platforms for bullying and exclusion, unrealistic expectations about body image and sources of popularity, normalization of risk-taking behaviors, and can be detrimental to mental health. Girls and young people who identify as sexual and gender minorities can be especially vulnerable as targets. Young people’s brains are still developing, and as individuals, young people are developing their own identities. What they see on social media can define what is expected in ways that is not accurate and that can be destructive to identity development and self-image. Adolescence is a time of risk-taking, which is both a strength and a vulnerability. Social media can exacerbate risks, as we have seen played out in the news. 

Although there are important benefits, social media can also provide platforms for bullying and exclusion, unrealistic expectations about body image and sources of popularity, normalization of risk-taking behaviors, and can be detrimental to mental health. – Claude Mellins

Glasofer : For those vulnerable to developing an eating disorder, social media may be especially unhelpful because it allows people to easily compare their appearance to their friends, to celebrities, even older images of themselves. Research tells us that how much someone engages with photo-related activities like posting and sharing photos on Facebook or Instagram is associated with less body acceptance and more obsessing about appearance. For adolescent girls in particular, the more time they spend on social media directly relates to how much they absorb the idea that being thin is ideal, are driven to try to become thin, and/or overly scrutinize their own bodies. Also, if someone is vulnerable to an eating disorder, they may be especially attracted to seeking out unhelpful information—which is all too easy to find on social media.

Are there any upsides to social media?

Mellins : For young people, social media provides a platform to help them figure out who they are. For very shy or introverted young people, it can be a way to meet others with similar interests. During the pandemic, social media made it possible for people to connect in ways when in-person socialization was not possible.  Social support and socializing are critical influences on coping and resilience. Friends we couldn’t see in person were available online and allowed us important points of connection. On the other hand, fewer opportunities for in-person interactions with friends and family meant less of a real-world check on some of the negative influences of social media.

Whether it’s social media or in person, a good peer group makes the difference. A group of friends that connects over shared interests like art or music, and is balanced in their outlook on eating and appearance, is a positive. – Deborah Glasofer

Glasofer : Whether it’s social media or in person, a good peer group makes the difference. A group of friends that connects over shared interests like art or music, and is balanced in their outlook on eating and appearance, is a positive. In fact, a good peer group online may be protective against negative in-person influences. For those with a history of eating disorders, there are body-positive and recovery groups on social media. Some people find these groups to be supportive; for others, it’s more beneficial to move on and pursue other interests.

Is there a healthy way to be on social media?

Mellins : If you feel social media is a negative experience, you might need a break. Disengaging with social media permanently is more difficult­—especially for young people. These platforms are powerful tools for connecting and staying up-to-date with friends and family. Social events, too. If you’re not on social media then you’re reliant on your friends to reach out to you personally, which doesn’t always happen. It’s complicated.

Glasofer : When you find yourself feeling badly about yourself in relation to what other people are posting about themselves, then social media is not doing you any favors. If there is anything on social media that is negatively affecting your actions or your choices­—for example, if you’re starting to eat restrictively or exercise excessively—then it’s time to reassess. Parents should check-in with their kids about their lives on social media. In general, I recommend limiting social media— creating boundaries that are reasonable and work for you—so you can be present with people in your life. I also recommend social media vacations. It’s good to take the time to notice the difference between the virtual world and the real world.

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64% of Americans say social media have a mostly negative effect on the way things are going in the U.S. today

About two-thirds of Americans (64%) say social media have a mostly negative effect on the way things are going in the country today, according to a Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults conducted July 13-19, 2020. Just one-in-ten Americans say social media sites have a mostly positive effect on the way things are going, and one-quarter say these platforms have a neither positive nor negative effect.

Those who have a negative view of the impact of social media mention, in particular, misinformation and the hate and harassment they see on social media. They also have concerns about users believing everything they see or read – or not being sure about what to believe. Additionally, they bemoan social media’s role in fomenting partisanship and polarization, the creation of echo chambers, and the perception that these platforms oppose President Donald Trump and conservatives.

This is part of a series of posts on Americans’ experiences with and attitudes about the role of social media in politics today. Pew Research Center conducted this study to understand how Americans think about the impact of social media on the way things are currently going in the country. To explore this, we surveyed 10,211 U.S. adults from July 13 to 19, 2020. Everyone who took part is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. This way nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. Read more about the ATP’s methodology .

Here are the questions used for this report, along with responses, and its methodology.

The public’s views on the positive and negative effect of social media vary widely by political affiliation and ideology. Across parties, larger shares describe social media’s impact as mostly negative rather than mostly positive, but this belief is particularly widespread among Republicans.

Roughly half of Democrats and independents who lean toward the Democratic Party (53%) say social media have a largely negative effect on the way things are going in the country today, compared with 78% of Republicans and leaners who say the same. Democrats are about three times as likely as Republicans to say these sites have a mostly positive impact (14% vs. 5%) and twice as likely to say social media have neither a positive nor negative effect (32% vs. 16%).

Among Democrats, there are no differences in these views along ideological lines. Republicans, however, are slightly more divided by ideology. Conservative Republicans are more likely than moderate to liberal Republicans to say social media have a mostly negative effect (83% vs. 70%). Conversely, moderate to liberal Republicans are more likely than their conservative counterparts to say social media have a mostly positive (8% vs. 4%) or neutral impact (21% vs. 13%).

Younger adults are more likely to say social media have a positive impact on the way things are going in the country and are less likely to believe social media sites have a negative impact compared with older Americans. For instance, 15% of those ages 18 to 29 say social media have a mostly positive effect on the way things are going in the country today, while just 8% of those over age 30 say the same. Americans 18 to 29 are also less likely than those 30 and older to say social media have a mostly negative impact (54% vs. 67%).

However, views among younger adults vary widely by partisanship. For example, 43% of Democrats ages 18 to 29 say social media have a mostly negative effect on the way things are going, compared with about three-quarters (76%) of Republicans in the same age group. In addition, these youngest Democrats are more likely than their Republican counterparts to say social media platforms have a mostly positive (20% vs. 6%) or neither a positive nor negative effect (35% vs. 18%) on the way things are going in the country today. This partisan division persists among those 30 and older, but most of the gaps are smaller than those seen within the younger cohort.

Views on the negative impact of social media vary only slightly between social media users (63%) and non-users (69%), with non-users being slightly more likely to say these sites have a negative impact. However, among social media users, those who say some or a lot of what they see on social media is related to politics are more likely than those who say a little or none of what they see on these sites is related to politics to think social media platforms have a mostly negative effect on the way things are going in the country today (65% vs. 50%).

Past Pew Research Center studies have drawn attention to the complicated relationships Americans have with social media. In 2019, a Center survey found that 72% of U.S. adults reported using at least one social media site. And while these platforms have been used for political and social activism and engagement , they also raise concerns among portions of the population. Some think political ads on these sites are unacceptable, and many object to the way social media platforms have been weaponized to spread made-up news and engender online harassment . At the same time, a share of users credit something they saw on social media with changing their views about a political or social issue. And growing shares of Americans who use these sites also report feeling worn out by political posts and discussions on social media.

Those who say social media have negative impact cite concerns about misinformation, hate, censorship; those who see positive impact cite being informed

When asked to elaborate on the main reason why they think social media have a mostly negative effect on the way things are going in this country today, roughly three-in-ten (28%) respondents who hold that view mention the spreading of misinformation and made-up news. Smaller shares reference examples of hate, harassment, conflict and extremism (16%) as a main reason, and 11% mention a perceived lack of critical thinking skills among many users – voicing concern about people who use these sites believing everything they see or read or being unsure about what to believe.

In written responses that mention misinformation or made-up news, a portion of adults often include references to the spread, speed and amount of false information available on these platforms. (Responses are lightly edited for spelling, style and readability.) For example:

“They allow for the rampant spread of misinformation.” –Man, 36

“False information is spread at lightning speed – and false information never seems to go away.” –Woman, 71

“Social media is rampant with misinformation both about the coronavirus and political and social issues, and the social media organizations do not do enough to combat this.” –Woman, 26

“Too much misinformation and lies are promoted from unsubstantiated sources that lead people to disregard vetted and expert information.” –Woman, 64

People’s responses that centered around hate, harassment, conflict or extremism in some way often mention concerns that social media contributes to incivility online tied to anonymity, the spreading of hate-filled ideas or conspiracies, or the incitement of violence.

“People say incendiary, stupid and thoughtless things online with the perception of anonymity that they would never say to someone else in person.” –Man, 53

“Promotes hate and extreme views and in some cases violence.” –Man, 69

“People don’t respect others’ opinions. They take it personally and try to fight with the other group. You can’t share your own thoughts on controversial topics without fearing someone will try to hurt you or your family.” –Woman, 65

“Social media is where people go to say some of the most hateful things they can imagine.” –Man, 46

About one-in-ten responses talk about how people on social media can be easily confused and believe everything they see or read or are not sure about what to believe.

“People believe everything they see and don’t verify its accuracy.” –Man, 75

“Many people can’t distinguish between real and fake news and information and share it without doing proper research …” –Man, 32

“You don’t know what’s fake or real.” –Man, 49

“It is hard to discern truth.” –Woman, 80

“People cannot distinguish fact from opinion, nor can they critically evaluate sources. They tend to believe everything they read, and when they see contradictory information (particularly propaganda), they shut down and don’t appear to trust any information.” –Man, 42

Smaller shares complain that the platforms censor content or allow material that is biased (9%), too negative (7%) or too steeped in partisanship and division (6%).

“Social media is censoring views that are different than theirs. There is no longer freedom of speech.” –Woman, 42

“It creates more divide between people with different viewpoints.” –Man, 37

“Focus is on negativity and encouraging angry behavior rather than doing something to help people and make the world better.” –Woman, 66

Far fewer Americans – 10% – say they believe social media has a mostly positive effect on the way things are going in the country today. When those who hold these positive views were asked about the main reason why they thought this, one-quarter say these sites help people stay informed and aware (25%) and about one-in-ten say they allow for communication, connection and community-building (12%).

“We are now aware of what’s happening around the world due to the social media outlet.” –Woman, 28

“It brings awareness to important issues that affect all Americans.” –Man, 60

“It brings people together; folks can see that there are others who share the same/similar experience, which is really important, especially when so many of us are isolated.” –Woman, 36

“Helps people stay connected and share experiences. I also get advice and recommendations via social media.” –Man, 32

“It keeps people connected who might feel lonely and alone if there did not have social media …” – Man, 65

Smaller shares tout social media as a place where marginalized people and groups have a voice (8%) and as a venue for activism and social movements (7%).

“Spreading activism and info and inspiring participation in Black Lives Matter.” –Woman, 31

“It gives average people an opportunity to voice and share their opinions.” –Man, 67

“Visibility – it has democratized access and provided platforms for voices who have been and continue to be oppressed.” –Woman, 27

Note: This is part of a series of blog posts leading up to the 2020 presidential election that explores the role of social media in politics today. Here are the questions used for this report, along with responses, and its methodology.

Other posts in this series:

• 23% of users in U.S. say social media led them to change views on an issue; some cite Black Lives Matter
• 54% of Americans say social media companies shouldn’t allow any political ads
• 55% of U.S. social media users say they are ‘worn out’ by political posts and discussions
• Americans think social media can help build movements, but can also be a distraction
• Misinformation
• Misinformation Online
• National Conditions
• Political Discourse
• Politics Online
• Social Media

Brooke Auxier is a former research associate focusing on internet and technology at Pew Research Center .

Majorities in most countries surveyed say social media is good for democracy

­most americans favor restrictions on false information, violent content online, as ai spreads, experts predict the best and worst changes in digital life by 2035, social media seen as mostly good for democracy across many nations, but u.s. is a major outlier, the role of alternative social media in the news and information environment, most popular.

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Social Media: The Biggest Threat to Your Brain

• Open access
• Published: 06 July 2023

Pros & cons: impacts of social media on mental health

• Ágnes Zsila 1 , 2 &
• Marc Eric S. Reyes   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-5280-1315 3  

BMC Psychology volume  11 , Article number:  201 ( 2023 ) Cite this article

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The use of social media significantly impacts mental health. It can enhance connection, increase self-esteem, and improve a sense of belonging. But it can also lead to tremendous stress, pressure to compare oneself to others, and increased sadness and isolation. Mindful use is essential to social media consumption.

Social media has become integral to our daily routines: we interact with family members and friends, accept invitations to public events, and join online communities to meet people who share similar preferences using these platforms. Social media has opened a new avenue for social experiences since the early 2000s, extending the possibilities for communication. According to recent research [ 1 ], people spend 2.3 h daily on social media. YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat have become increasingly popular among youth in 2022, and one-third think they spend too much time on these platforms [ 2 ]. The considerable time people spend on social media worldwide has directed researchers’ attention toward the potential benefits and risks. Research shows excessive use is mainly associated with lower psychological well-being [ 3 ]. However, findings also suggest that the quality rather than the quantity of social media use can determine whether the experience will enhance or deteriorate the user’s mental health [ 4 ]. In this collection, we will explore the impact of social media use on mental health by providing comprehensive research perspectives on positive and negative effects.

Social media can provide opportunities to enhance the mental health of users by facilitating social connections and peer support [ 5 ]. Indeed, online communities can provide a space for discussions regarding health conditions, adverse life events, or everyday challenges, which may decrease the sense of stigmatization and increase belongingness and perceived emotional support. Mutual friendships, rewarding social interactions, and humor on social media also reduced stress during the COVID-19 pandemic [ 4 ].

On the other hand, several studies have pointed out the potentially detrimental effects of social media use on mental health. Concerns have been raised that social media may lead to body image dissatisfaction [ 6 ], increase the risk of addiction and cyberbullying involvement [ 5 ], contribute to phubbing behaviors [ 7 ], and negatively affects mood [ 8 ]. Excessive use has increased loneliness, fear of missing out, and decreased subjective well-being and life satisfaction [ 8 ]. Users at risk of social media addiction often report depressive symptoms and lower self-esteem [ 9 ].

Overall, findings regarding the impact of social media on mental health pointed out some essential resources for psychological well-being through rewarding online social interactions. However, there is a need to raise awareness about the possible risks associated with excessive use, which can negatively affect mental health and everyday functioning [ 9 ]. There is neither a negative nor positive consensus regarding the effects of social media on people. However, by teaching people social media literacy, we can maximize their chances of having balanced, safe, and meaningful experiences on these platforms [ 10 ].

We encourage researchers to submit their research articles and contribute to a more differentiated overview of the impact of social media on mental health. BMC Psychology welcomes submissions to its new collection, which promises to present the latest findings in the emerging field of social media research. We seek research papers using qualitative and quantitative methods, focusing on social media users’ positive and negative aspects. We believe this collection will provide a more comprehensive picture of social media’s positive and negative effects on users’ mental health.

Data Availability

Not applicable.

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Pew Research Center. (2023). Teens and social media: Key findings from Pew Research Center surveys. Retrieved June 14, 2023, from https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/04/24/teens-and-social-media-key-findings-from-pew-research-center-surveys/ .

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Acknowledgements

Ágnes Zsila was supported by the ÚNKP-22-4 New National Excellence Program of the Ministry for Culture and Innovation from the source of the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund.

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Institute of Psychology, Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Budapest, Hungary

Ágnes Zsila

Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary

Department of Psychology, College of Science, University of Santo Tomas, Manila, 1008, Philippines

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AZ conceived and drafted the Editorial. MESR wrote the abstract and revised the Editorial. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Zsila, Á., Reyes, M.E.S. Pros & cons: impacts of social media on mental health. BMC Psychol 11 , 201 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-023-01243-x

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Teens and social media use: What's the impact?

Social media is a term for internet sites and apps that you can use to share content you've created. Social media also lets you respond to content that others post. That can include pictures, text, reactions or comments on posts by others, and links to information.

Online sharing within social media sites helps many people stay in touch with friends or connect with new ones. And that may be more important for teenagers than other age groups. Friendships help teens feel supported and play a role in forming their identities. So, it's only natural to wonder how social media use might affect teens.

Social media is a big part of daily life for lots of teenagers.

How big? A 2022 survey of 13- to 17-year-olds offers a clue. Based on about 1,300 responses, the survey found that 35% of teens use at least one of five social media platforms more than several times a day. The five social media platforms are: YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat.

Social media doesn't affect all teens the same way. Use of social media is linked with healthy and unhealthy effects on mental health. These effects vary from one teenager to another. Social media effects on mental health depend on things such as:

• What a teen sees and does online.
• The amount of time spent online.
• Psychological factors, such as maturity level and any preexisting mental health conditions.
• Personal life circumstances, including cultural, social and economic factors.

Here are the general pros and cons of teen social media use, along with tips for parents.

Healthy social media

Social media lets teens create online identities, chat with others and build social networks. These networks can provide teens with support from other people who have hobbies or experiences in common. This type of support especially may help teens who:

• Lack social support offline or are lonely.
• Are going through a stressful time.
• Belong to groups that often get marginalized, such as racial minorities, the LGBTQ community and those who are differently abled.
• Have long-term medical conditions.

Sometimes, social media platforms help teens:

• Express themselves.
• Connect with other teens locally and across long distances.
• Learn how other teens cope with challenging life situations and mental health conditions.
• View or take part in moderated chat forums that encourage talking openly about topics such as mental health.
• Ask for help or seek healthcare for symptoms of mental health conditions.

These healthy effects of social media can help teens in general. They also may help teens who are prone to depression stay connected to others. And social media that's humorous or distracting may help a struggling teen cope with a challenging day.

Unhealthy social media

Social media use may have negative effects on some teens. It might:

• Distract from homework, exercise and family activities.
• Disrupt sleep.
• Lead to information that is biased or not correct.
• Become a means to spread rumors or share too much personal information.
• Lead some teens to form views about other people's lives or bodies that aren't realistic.
• Expose some teens to online predators, who might try to exploit or extort them.
• Expose some teens to cyberbullying, which can raise the risk of mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression.

What's more, certain content related to risk-taking, and negative posts or interactions on social media, have been linked with self-harm and rarely, death.

The risks of social media use are linked with various factors. One may be how much time teens spend on these platforms.

In a study focusing on 12- to 15-year-olds in the United States, spending three hours a day using social media was linked to a higher risk of mental health concerns. That study was based on data collected in 2013 and 2014 from more than 6,500 participants.

Another study looked at data on more than 12,000 teens in England between the ages of 13 to 16. The researchers found that using social media more than three times a day predicted poor mental health and well-being in teens.

But not all research has found a link between time spent on social media and mental health risks in teens.

How teens use social media also might determine its impact. For instance, viewing certain types of content may raise some teens' mental health risks. This could include content that depicts:

• Illegal acts.
• Self-harm or harm to other people.
• Encouragement of habits tied to eating disorders, such as purging or restrictive eating.

These types of content may be even more risky for teens who already have a mental health condition. Being exposed to discrimination, hate or cyberbullying on social media also can raise the risk of anxiety or depression.

What teens share about themselves on social media also matters.

With the teenage brain, it's common to make a choice before thinking it through. So, teens might post something when they're angry or upset, and regret it later. That's known as stress posting.

Teens who post content also are at risk of sharing sexual photos or highly personal stories. This can lead to teens being bullied, harassed or even blackmailed.

Protecting your teen

You can take steps to help your teens use social media responsibly and limit some of the possible negative effects.

Use these tips:

Set rules and limits as needed. This helps prevent social media from getting in the way of activities, sleep, meals or homework.

For example, you could make a rule about not using social media until homework is done. Or you could set a daily time limit for social media use.

You also could choose to keep social media off-limits during certain times. These times might include during family meals and an hour before bed.

Set an example by following these rules yourself. And let your teen know what the consequences will be if your rules aren't followed.

• Manage any challenging behaviors. If your teen's social media use starts to challenge your rules or your sense of what's appropriate, talk with your teen about it. You also could connect with parents of your teen's friends or take a look at your teen's internet history.
• Turn on privacy settings. This can help keep your teen from sharing personal information or data that your teen didn't mean to share. Each of your teen's social media accounts likely has privacy setting that can be changed.

Monitor your teen's accounts. The American Psychological Association recommends you regularly review your child's social media use during the early teen years.

One way to monitor is to follow or "friend" your child's social accounts. As your teen gets older, you can choose to monitor your teen's social media less. Your teen's maturity level can help guide your decision.

Have regular talks with your teen about social media. These talks give you chances to ask how social media has been making your teen feel. Encourage your teen to let you know if something online worries or bothers your teen.

Regular talks offer you chances to give your child advice about social media too. For example, you can teach your teen to question whether content is accurate. You also can explain that social media is full of images about beauty and lifestyle that are not realistic.

• Be a role model for your teen. You might want to tell your child about your own social media habits. That can help you set a good example and keep your regular talks from being one-sided.

Explain what's not OK. Remind your teen that it's hurtful to gossip, spread rumors, bully or harm someone's reputation — online or otherwise.

Also remind your teen not to share personal information with strangers online. This includes people's addresses, telephone numbers, passwords, and bank or credit card numbers.

• Encourage face-to-face contact with friends. This is even more important for teens prone to social anxiety.

Talk to your child's healthcare professional if you think your teen has symptoms of anxiety, depression or other mental health concerns related to social media use. Also talk with your child's care professional if your teen has any of the following symptoms:

• Uses social media even when wanting to stop.
• Uses it so much that school, sleep, activities or relationships suffer.
• Often spends more time on social platforms than you intended.
• Lies in order to use social media.

Your teen might be referred to a mental healthcare professional who can help.

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• Hagan JF, et al., eds. Promoting the healthy and safe use of social media. In: Bright Futures: Guidelines for Health Supervision of Infants, Children, and Adolescents. 4th ed. https://publications.aap.org/pediatriccare. American Academy of Pediatrics; 2017. Accessed Oct. 3, 2023.
• Social media can help connect: Research-based tips from pediatricians for families. Center of Excellence on Social Media and Youth Mental Health. https://www.aap.org/en/patient-care/media-and-children/center-of-excellence-on-social-media-and-youth-mental-health/. Accessed Oct. 3, 2023.
• Health advisory on social media use in adolescence. American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/topics/social-media-internet/health-advisory-adolescent-social-media-use. Accessed Oct. 3, 2023.
• Social media and teens. American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. https://www.aacap.org/AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Facts_for_Families/FFF-Guide/Social-Media-and-Teens-100.aspx. Accessed Oct. 3, 2023.
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• Teens, social media and technology 2022. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2022/08/10/teens-social-media-and-technology-2022/. Accessed Oct. 3, 2023.
• Popat A, et al. Exploring adolescents' perspectives on social media and mental health and well-being — A qualitative literature review. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 2023; doi:10.1177/13591045221092884.
• Valkenburg PM, et al. Social media use and its impact on adolescent mental health: An umbrella review of the evidence. Current Opinion in Psychology. 2022; doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.08.017.
• Berger MN, et al. Social media use and health and well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer youth: Systematic Review. Journal of Medical Internet Research. 2022; doi:10.2196/38449.
• Self-Harm. Pediatric Patient Education. https://publications.aap.org/patiented. Accessed Oct. 3, 2023.
• Liu M, et al. Time spent on social media and risk of depression in adolescents: A dose-response meta-analysis. 2022; doi:10.3390/ijerph19095164.
• Coyne SM, et al. Does time spent using social media impact mental health? An eight year longitudinal study. Computers in Human Behavior. 2020; doi:10.1016/j.chb.2019.106160.
• Viner RM, et al. Roles of cyberbullying, sleep, and physical activity in mediating the effects of social media use on mental health and wellbeing among young people in England: A secondary analysis of longitudinal data. The Lancet. Child & Adolescent Health. 2019; doi:10.1016/S2352-4642(19)30186-5.
• Riehm KE, et al. Associations between time spent using social media and internalizing and externalizing problems among US youth. JAMA Psychiatry. 2019; doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2019.2325.
• Hoge E, et al. Digital media, anxiety, and depression in children. Pediatrics. 2017; doi:10.1542/peds.2016-1758G.
• How to help kids navigate friendships and peer relationships. American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/topics/parenting/navigating-friendships. Accessed Oct. 24, 2023.
• Hoecker JL (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic. Oct. 31, 2023.
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Regulating Harmful Speech on Social Media: The Current Legal Landscape and Policy Proposals

• Published: August 2022
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Social media platforms have transformed how we communicate with one another. They allow us to talk easily and directly to countless others at lightning speed, with no filter and essentially no barriers to transmission. With their enormous user bases and proprietary algorithms that are designed both to promote popular content and to display information based on user preferences, they far surpass any historical antecedents in their scope and power to spread information and ideas.

The benefits of social media platforms are obvious and enormous. They foster political and public discourse and civic engagement in the United States and around the world. 1 Close Social media platforms give voice to marginalized individuals and groups, allowing them to organize, offer support, and hold powerful people accountable. 2 Close And they allow individuals to communicate with and form communities with others who share their interests but might otherwise have remained disconnected from one another.

At the same time, social media platforms, with their directness, immediacy, and lack of a filter, enable harmful speech to flourish—including wild conspiracy theories, deliberately false information, foreign propaganda, and hateful rhetoric. The platforms’ algorithms and massive user bases allow such “harmful speech” to be disseminated to millions of users at once and then shared by those users at an exponential rate. This widespread and frictionless transmission of harmful speech has real-world consequences. Conspiracy theories and false information spread on social media have helped sow widespread rejection of COVID-19 public-health measures 3 Close and fueled the lies about the 2020 US presidential election and its result. 4 Close Violent, racist, and anti-Semitic content on social media has played a role in multiple mass shootings. 5 Close Social media have also facilitated speech targeted at specific individuals, including doxing (the dissemination of private information, such as home addresses, for malevolent purposes) and other forms of harassment, including revenge porn and cyberbullying.

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Does social media rewire kids' brains?

by Anthony Vaccaro, Los Angeles Times

America's young people face a mental health crisis, and adults constantly debate how much to blame phones and social media. A new round of conversation has been spurred by Jonathan Haidt's book "The Anxious Generation," which contends that rising mental health issues in children and adolescents are the result of social media replacing key experiences during formative years of brain development.

The book has been criticized by academics, and rightfully so. Haidt's argument is based largely on research showing that adolescent mental health has declined since 2010, coinciding roughly with mass adoption of the smartphone. But of course, correlation is not causation. The research we have to date suggests that the effects of phones and social media on adolescent mental health are probably much more nuanced.

That complex picture is less likely to get attention than Haidt's claims because it doesn't play as much into parental fears. After all, seeing kids absorbed in their phones, and hearing that their brains are being "rewired," calls to mind an alien world-domination plot straight from a sci-fi film.

And that's part of the problem with the "rewiring the brain" narrative of screen time. It reflects a larger trope in public discussion that wields brain science as a scare tactic without yielding much real insight.

First, let's consider what the research has shown so far. Meta-analyses of the links between mental health and social media give inconclusive or relatively minor results. The largest U.S. study on childhood brain development to date did not find significant relationships between the development of brain function and digital media use.

An American Psychological Assn. health advisory recently reported that the current state of research shows "using social media is not inherently beneficial or harmful to young people" and that its effects depend on "pre-existing strengths or vulnerabilities, and the contexts in which they grow up."

So why the insistence from Haidt and others that smartphones dangerously rewire the brain? It stems from misunderstandings of research that I have encountered frequently as a neuroscientist studying emotional development, behavioral addictions and people's reactions to media.

Imaging studies in neuroscience typically compare some feature of the brain between two groups: one that does not do a specific behavior (or does it less frequently) and one that does the behavior more frequently. When we find a relationship, all it means is either that the behavior influences something about the functioning of this brain feature, or something about this feature influences whether we engage in the behavior.

In other words, an association between increased brain activity and using social media could mean that social media activates the identified pathways, or people who already have increased activity in those pathways tend to be drawn to social media, or both.

Fearmongering happens when the mere association between an activity such as social media use and a brain pathway is taken as a sign of something harmful on its own. Functional and structural research on the brain cannot give enough information to objectively identify increases or decreases in neural activity, or in a brain region's thickness, as "good" or "bad." There is no default healthy status quo that everybody's brains are measured against, and doing nearly any activity involves many parts of the brain.

"The Anxious Generation" neglects these subtleties when, for example, it discusses a brain system known as the default mode network. This system decreases in activity when we engage with spirituality, meditation and related endeavors, and Haidt uses this fact to claim that social media is "not healthy for any of us" because studies suggest that it by contrast increases activity in the same network.

But the default mode network is just a set of brain regions that tend to be involved in internally focused thinking, such as contemplating your past or making a moral judgment, versus externally focused thinking such as playing chess or driving an unfamiliar route. Its increased activity does not automatically mean something unhealthy.

This type of brain-related scare tactic is not new. A common version, which is also deployed for smartphones, involves pathways in the brain linked to drug addiction , including areas that respond to dopamine and opioids. The trope says that any activity associated with such pathways is addictive, like drugs, whether it's Oreos, cheese, God, credit card purchases, suntanning or looking at a pretty face. These things do involve neural pathways related to motivated behavior—but that does not mean they damage our brains or should be equated with drugs.

Adolescence is a time when the brain is particularly plastic, or prone to change. But change doesn't have to be bad. We should take advantage of plasticity to help teach kids healthy ways to self-manage their own use of, and feelings surrounding, smartphones.

Do I expect future findings on the adolescent brain to immediately quell parents' fears on this issue? Of course not—and the point is that they shouldn't. Brain imaging data is a fascinating way to explore interactions between psychology, neuroscience and social factors. It's just not a tool for declaring behaviors to be pathological. Feel free to question whether social media is good for kids—but don't misuse neuroscience to do so.

2024 Los Angeles Times. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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What to Know About the Supreme Court Arguments on Social Media Laws

Both Florida and Texas passed laws regulating how social media companies moderate speech online. The laws, if upheld, could fundamentally alter how the platforms police their sites.

By David McCabe

McCabe reported from Washington.

Social media companies are bracing for Supreme Court arguments on Monday that could fundamentally alter the way they police their sites.

After Facebook, Twitter and YouTube barred President Donald J. Trump in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the Capitol, Florida made it illegal for technology companies to ban from their sites a candidate for office in the state. Texas later passed its own law prohibiting platforms from taking down political content.

Two tech industry groups, NetChoice and the Computer & Communications Industry Association, sued to block the laws from taking effect. They argued that the companies have the right to make decisions about their own platforms under the First Amendment, much as a newspaper gets to decide what runs in its pages.

So what’s at stake?

The Supreme Court’s decision in those cases — Moody v. NetChoice and NetChoice v. Paxton — is a big test of the power of social media companies, potentially reshaping millions of social media feeds by giving the government influence over how and what stays online.

“What’s at stake is whether they can be forced to carry content they don’t want to,” said Daphne Keller, a lecturer at Stanford Law School who filed a brief with the Supreme Court supporting the tech groups’ challenge to the Texas and Florida laws. “And, maybe more to the point, whether the government can force them to carry content they don’t want to.”

If the Supreme Court says the Texas and Florida laws are constitutional and they take effect, some legal experts speculate that the companies could create versions of their feeds specifically for those states. Still, such a ruling could usher in similar laws in other states, and it is technically complicated to accurately restrict access to a website based on location.

Critics of the laws say the feeds to the two states could include extremist content — from neo-Nazis, for example — that the platforms previously would have taken down for violating their standards. Or, the critics say, the platforms could ban discussion of anything remotely political by barring posts about many contentious issues.

What are the Florida and Texas social media laws?

The Texas law prohibits social media platforms from taking down content based on the “viewpoint” of the user or expressed in the post. The law gives individuals and the state’s attorney general the right to file lawsuits against the platforms for violations.

The Florida law fines platforms if they permanently ban from their sites a candidate for office in the state. It also forbids the platforms from taking down content from a “journalistic enterprise” and requires the companies to be upfront about their rules for moderating content.

Proponents of the Texas and Florida laws, which were passed in 2021, say that they will protect conservatives from the liberal bias that they say pervades the platforms, which are based in California.

“People the world over use Facebook, YouTube, and X (the social-media platform formerly known as Twitter) to communicate with friends, family, politicians, reporters, and the broader public,” Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general, said in one legal brief. “And like the telegraph companies of yore, the social media giants of today use their control over the mechanics of this ‘modern public square’ to direct — and often stifle — public discourse.”

Chase Sizemore, a spokesman for the Florida attorney general, said the state looked “forward to defending our social media law that protects Floridians.” A spokeswoman for the Texas attorney general did not provide a comment.

What are the current rights of social media platforms?

They now decide what does and doesn’t stay online.

Companies including Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, TikTok, Snap, YouTube and X have long policed themselves, setting their own rules for what users are allowed to say while the government has taken a hands-off approach.

In 1997, the Supreme Court ruled that a law regulating indecent speech online was unconstitutional, differentiating the internet from mediums where the government regulates content. The government, for instance, enforces decency standards on broadcast television and radio.

For years, bad actors have flooded social media with misleading information , hate speech and harassment, prompting the companies to come up with new rules over the last decade that include forbidding false information about elections and the pandemic. Platforms have banned figures like the influencer Andrew Tate for violating their rules, including against hate speech.

But there has been a right-wing backlash to these measures, with some conservatives accusing the platforms of censoring their views — and even prompting Elon Musk to say he wanted to buy Twitter in 2022 to help ensure users’ freedom of speech.

What are the social media platforms arguing?

The tech groups say that the First Amendment gives the companies the right to take down content as they see fit, because it protects their ability to make editorial choices about the content of their products.

In their lawsuit against the Texas law, the groups said that just like a magazine’s publishing decision, “a platform’s decision about what content to host and what to exclude is intended to convey a message about the type of community that the platform hopes to foster.”

Still, some legal scholars are worried about the implications of allowing the social media companies unlimited power under the First Amendment, which is intended to protect the freedom of speech as well as the freedom of the press.

“I do worry about a world in which these companies invoke the First Amendment to protect what many of us believe are commercial activities and conduct that is not expressive,” said Olivier Sylvain, a professor at Fordham Law School who until recently was a senior adviser to the Federal Trade Commission chair, Lina Khan.

How does this affect Big Tech’s liability for content?

A federal law known as Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act shields the platforms from lawsuits over most user content. It also protects them from legal liability for how they choose to moderate that content.

That law has been criticized in recent years for making it impossible to hold the platforms accountable for real-world harm that flows from posts they carry, including online drug sales and terrorist videos.

The cases being argued on Monday do not challenge that law head-on. But the Section 230 protections could play a role in the broader arguments over whether the court should uphold the Texas and Florida laws. And the state laws would indeed create new legal liability for the platforms if they take down certain content or ban certain accounts.

Last year, the Supreme Court considered two cases, directed at Google’s YouTube and Twitter, that sought to limit the reach of the Section 230 protections. The justices declined to hold the tech platforms legally liable for the content in question.

What comes next?

The court will hear arguments from both sides on Monday. A decision is expected by June.

Legal experts say the court may rule that the laws are unconstitutional, but provide a road map on how to fix them. Or it may uphold the companies’ First Amendment rights completely.

Carl Szabo, the general counsel of NetChoice, which represents companies including Google and Meta and lobbies against tech regulations, said that if the group’s challenge to the laws fails, “Americans across the country would be required to see lawful but awful content” that could be construed as political and therefore covered by the laws.

“There’s a lot of stuff that gets couched as political content,” he said. “Terrorist recruitment is arguably political content.”

But if the Supreme Court rules that the laws violate the Constitution, it will entrench the status quo: Platforms, not anybody else, will determine what speech gets to stay online.

Adam Liptak contributed reporting.

David McCabe covers tech policy. He joined The Times from Axios in 2019. More about David McCabe

Speech On Social Media- Advantages, Disadvantages and Importance

Table of Contents

Speech On Social Media: In a world where clicks, likes, and shares have become the currency of our social interactions, there’s no denying the pervasive influence of social media. It’s a digital realm that has seamlessly woven itself into the fabric of our lives, altering how we connect, communicate, and consume information. From connecting with long-lost friends to voicing our opinions on global issues, social media has transformed the way we navigate our interconnected world. But what lies beneath the surface of those enticing timelines and trending hashtags?

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Students often encounter the task of giving speeches on various topics, and social media is a fascinating subject for exploration. In this article, we will embark on a journey to explore the captivating and complex realm of social media. We have provided a few sample speech topics on social media, highlighting its advantages, disadvantages, and the profound impact it has on our lives.

Long and Short Speeches on Social Media in English

Speech on advantages and disadvantages of social media for students – sample 1.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Today, I stand before you to discuss a topic that has become an integral part of our lives – social media. It’s hard to imagine a world without platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. Social media has transformed the way we connect, communicate, and share information. But, like every coin has two sides, social media has its advantages and disadvantages.

Let’s start with the positive aspects. Here are the pros of social media. Social media bridges geographical gaps, allowing us to connect with friends and family worldwide. It’s a powerful tool for sharing our thoughts, experiences, and achievements. Students benefit from it as a valuable resource for learning and research. Moreover, it’s a platform for raising social awareness, promoting businesses, and even finding job opportunities.

However, we must also acknowledge the downsides. Excessive use of social media can lead to addiction and affect mental health. It’s a breeding ground for cyberbullying, misinformation, and privacy invasion. Moreover, the constant exposure to idealized images and lives can negatively impact self-esteem.

In conclusion, social media is a double-edged sword. It has revolutionized the way we communicate and share, offering numerous advantages. Yet, we must navigate it cautiously, being mindful of its pitfalls. Let’s use it responsibly and harness its potential for good.

Speech on Technology Speech on Internet Essay on Uses of Internet

Speech on Impact of Social Media – Sample 2

Good day, everyone,

The topic I’d like to address today is the impact of social media on our lives. There’s no denying that social media has become an inseparable part of our daily routine. From connecting with friends to keeping up with the latest trends, it’s all at our fingertips.

Let’s dive into the advantages of social media. Social media allows us to stay connected with friends and family, regardless of distance. It’s a treasure trove of information, news, and educational content. For students, it offers a platform to collaborate on projects and access a wealth of knowledge. Businesses utilize it for marketing and customer engagement.

However, there’s another side to the story. Social media can be addictive, leading to time wastage and reduced productivity. Privacy concerns are a pressing issue, with personal information often at risk. Cyberbullying and the spread of fake news are unfortunate consequences of its widespread use.

So, where do we stand? Social media is a tool, and its impact depends on how we use it. It can bring us closer or push us apart. It can educate or misinform. The choice is ours.

In conclusion, social media has its merits and demerits. It’s up to us to harness its advantages while being vigilant about its pitfalls. Let’s use it wisely, striking a balance between the virtual and real worlds.

Thank you for your attention.

Speech on Social Media Topic in English – Sample 3

I’m delighted to address you on a topic that has reshaped our world – social media. In today’s digital age, it’s nearly impossible to escape its influence. So, let’s explore the impact and significance of social media.

To begin with, social media has revolutionized communication. It connects people worldwide, making the world a smaller place. It’s a powerful tool for staying informed about current events and trends. For students, it’s a treasure trove of educational resources. Entrepreneurs and businesses leverage it for promotion and brand building.

Yet, there’s a flip side. The addictive nature of social media can lead to time wastage. Privacy concerns loom large, as our personal information is often shared and exploited. The spread of misinformation and cyberbullying are unfortunate consequences.

So, where do we go from here? It’s crucial to strike a balance. Use social media as a tool for enrichment, connection, and empowerment. But also, be mindful of its addictive nature and potential pitfalls. Let’s make informed choices in our digital journeys.

In conclusion, social media is a force that’s here to stay. It’s up to us to harness its advantages while being vigilant about its drawbacks. Let’s make our online presence a positive and enriching one.

Social media has become an integral part of our daily lives, revolutionizing the way we connect, communicate, and share information. From its myriad benefits to the nuanced drawbacks, understanding the multifaceted role of social platforms is crucial in today’s digital landscape.

Lets see the Advantages, Disadvantages and Importance of Online Networking

1. Global Connectivity and Networking Social media bridges geographical barriers, enabling individuals to connect globally. It facilitates networking opportunities, fostering professional relationships and personal connections.

2. Information Dissemination and Awareness Instantaneous sharing allows for rapid dissemination of information. Be it news, trends, or educational content, social media serves as a powerful tool for spreading awareness and initiating discussions on various topics.

3. Business Growth and Marketing Businesses leverage social platforms to expand their reach, engage with audiences, and market their products/services. Targeted ads and analytics help businesses create effective strategies.

4. Community Building and Support Social media brings people together around common interests, creating spaces for support, self-expression, advice, and finding similar-minded individuals.

Disadvantages

1. Privacy and Security Concerns Privacy breaches and data misuse remain significant concerns. Users often share sensitive information unknowingly, leading to potential security risks and exploitation by third parties.

2. Addiction and Mental Health Impact Excessive usage can lead to addiction and have adverse effects on mental health. Constant exposure to curated, often idealized content can fuel feelings of inadequacy and anxiety.

3. Spread of Misinformation False information can spread rapidly, impacting opinions and beliefs. Misleading content, rumors, and fake news pose a challenge in maintaining an informed society.

4. Online Harassment and Cyberbullying Social media platforms can be breeding grounds for cyberbullying and harassment. Anonymity and easy accessibility empower individuals to engage in harmful behaviors.

1. Communication Evolution Social media has transformed communication by providing instant connectivity across the globe. It has redefined how people interact, share ideas, and collaborate.

2. Information Accessibility It democratizes information, making knowledge accessible to diverse populations regardless of geographic or socioeconomic barriers.

3. Catalyst for Change It serves as a catalyst for societal change by amplifying voices, raising awareness about social issues, and mobilizing movements for positive causes.

4. Business Adaptation For businesses, social media is an indispensable tool, enabling them to adapt to changing consumer behaviors, innovate marketing strategies, and engage with their target audience effectively.

Also Read: Disadvantages of Using Social Media During Online classes

FAQ’s

Why is social media important speech.

A speech on the importance of social media can highlight its role in connecting people, facilitating communication, sharing information, and its impact on various aspects of our lives.

What is social media in easy words?

Social media is websites and applications that enable users to create and share content, connect with others, and participate in online communities by sharing thoughts, pictures, videos, and messages.

What is the importance of social media in students?

Social media offers students platforms for collaboration, learning, networking, and accessing information. It can aid in educational research, career opportunities, and building connections.

Why is social media important?

Social media is important as it helps in staying connected with friends and family, accessing news and information, promoting businesses, fostering communities, and providing a platform for self-expression.

Write a 1-minute speech on social media?

Social media has revolutionized the way we connect and communicate. It bridges distances, opens doors to new opportunities, and allows us to share our stories with the world. From keeping in touch with loved ones to exploring new interests, social media has become an integral part of our lives, shaping how we learn, work, and interact in today's digital age.

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Speech on Negative Impact Of Social Media

In the world of ‘likes’ and ‘shares’, social media might seem like a fun playground. Yet, it’s not all positive. There’s a darker side to it that might surprise you. From cyberbullying to fake news, social media can often harm your mental health and distort your perception of reality.

1-minute Speech on Negative Impact Of Social Media

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Social media, like a coin, has two sides. One side brings us closer to friends and family. The other side, which we’ll talk about today, can bring harm. This harm can take many forms, and we’ll discuss a few of them now.

One big problem is that social media can make us feel bad about ourselves. We see pictures of people living perfect lives, with perfect bodies, and perfect homes. This can make us feel like our own lives are not good enough. It’s important to remember that people only share the best parts of their lives online, not the tough parts.

Another issue is that we can spend too much time on social media. This can take away from other important things like studying, playing outside, or spending time with our family. We may even start to feel upset or anxious if we can’t check our social media accounts.

Social media can also lead to cyberbullying. People, especially kids, can be mean on social media because they don’t have to say things face to face. This can hurt feelings and damage self-esteem.

Finally, privacy is a big concern. On social media, we often share personal information without thinking. This can be risky because once something is online, it’s hard to take back. Strangers, or even people we know, can use this information in ways we don’t want.

In conclusion, while social media has its benefits, it also has clear pitfalls. We need to use it wisely, think before we post, and remember that what we see online is not always the full story. Let’s use social media to bring us closer, not push us apart.

2-minute Speech on Negative Impact Of Social Media

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls,

Today, I want to talk to you about something very important. It’s something we all use every day. That’s right, I’m talking about social media. Social media is fun, right? We can connect with friends, share pictures, and even learn new things. But, like too much of any good thing, it can also cause problems.

Let’s look at the first issue – wasted time. Do you realize how much time you spend on social media? It’s easy to get lost scrolling through posts, watching videos, or chatting with friends. Before you know it, hours have passed. That’s time you could have spent studying, playing outside, or learning a new skill.

Now, let’s talk about something else – the pressure to be perfect. On social media, we only see the best parts of people’s lives. They post pictures of their vacations, their parties, and their new clothes. This can make us feel like our own lives aren’t good enough. We start to feel sad or jealous, even though these posts aren’t the whole truth.

Next, let’s discuss a very serious problem – cyberbullying. Social media gives bullies a new way to hurt others. They can post mean comments, share embarrassing pictures, or even create fake profiles. This type of bullying can happen 24/7, and it’s hard to escape. It can make us feel scared, lonely, and depressed.

Finally, we need to think about privacy. When we share things on social media, we could be giving away too much information. Strangers might learn where we live, where we go to school, or even our phone number. This could lead to dangerous situations. It’s important to remember that not everyone on the internet is our friend.

To solve these problems, we all need to change our habits. We need to limit our time on social media and focus on real-life experiences. We need to remember that no one’s life is perfect, no matter what it looks like online. We need to stand up to bullies, and report any hurtful behavior we see. And we must always protect our personal information.

Remember, social media is just a tool. It’s up to us how we use it. Let’s use it wisely, so it doesn’t cause more harm than good. Thank you.

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Social Media Hate Speech, Harassment 'Significant Problem' For LGBTQ Users: Report

Jaclyn Diaz

A new report by GLAAD highlights the high rate of harassment and hate facing LGBTQ users on social media. In this photo, demonstrators rally in favor of LGBTQ rights outside the U.S. Supreme Court in 2019. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

A new report by GLAAD highlights the high rate of harassment and hate facing LGBTQ users on social media. In this photo, demonstrators rally in favor of LGBTQ rights outside the U.S. Supreme Court in 2019.

The top social media sites — Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Twitter — are all "effectively unsafe for LGBTQ users," according to a new report by GLAAD.

"Of special concern, the prevalence and intensity of hate speech and harassment stands out as the most significant problem in urgent need of improvement," the organization focused on ending discrimination against LGBTQ people said in its inaugural social media index report.

Sixty-four percent of LGBTQ social media users reported experiencing harassment and hate speech, a much higher rate than all other identity groups. Users on Facebook experienced the highest percentage of online harassment. About 75% of those who experienced online harassment reported at least some of that harassment occurred on Facebook. Smaller shares experienced harassment or hate on Twitter (24%), YouTube (21%), Instagram (24%) and TikTok (9%).

In an interview with Axios on HBO that aired Sunday night, GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said the organization planned to give each of the social media sites a grade as part of its index, but abandoned that plan after determining all would receive a failing grade.

Ellis said online hate speech and harassment can be tied to real-world consequences, including the recent wave of legislation targeting the transgender community across the country.

"I think that there are direct lines to, unfortunately, suicides of our community," she said.

Physical violence against the transgender and gender-nonconforming community is also at its highest level since the Human Rights Campaign began tracking the phenomenon in 2013. The group reported that in 2020 at least 44 transgender or gender-nonconforming people were fatally shot or killed by other violent means. The majority of the victims were Black and Latinx transgender women.

Recommendations

GLAAD's report noted several bright spots in policy changes made by the social media giants as a way to improve conduct and cut down on misinformation.

So far this year, Twitter and Facebook announced new features with the aim of improving site conduct.

In March, Facebook said it would enable users to limit who can comment on their posts and make it easier for users to adjust the algorithm of their news feed.

Last week, Twitter announced it was rolling out an add-on that detects "mean" replies on its service before a user presses send. When such a tweet is composed, an automatic prompt reads, "Want to review this before Tweeting?"

During the 2020 election, Twitter also began flagging tweets that were suspected of containing misinformation.

But social media can, and should, go even further, GLAAD said.

The organization mapped out several recommendations and suggestions for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and TikTok.

Among those, GLAAD calls for greater protection of LGBTQ users in community guidelines, improved content moderation, mitigating algorithmic bias, and an increase in LGBTQ hiring, inclusion and leadership at these companies.

The report said, "While Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and others must balance concerns around free expression, it cannot be stated strongly enough that social media platforms must take substantive, meaningful, and far more aggressive action to prioritize the safety of their LGBTQ users and to staunch the epidemic of hate and extremism."

• hate speech
• social media

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• Open access
• Published: 08 May 2024

Towards determining perceived audience intent for multimodal social media posts using the theory of reasoned action

• Trisha Mittal 1 ,
• Sanjoy Chowdhury 1 ,
• Pooja Guhan 1 ,
• Snikitha Chelluri 1 &
• Dinesh Manocha 1 , 2  

Scientific Reports volume  14 , Article number:  10606 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

Metrics details

• Computer science
• Information technology

Increasing use of social media has resulted in many detrimental effects in youth. With very little control over multimodal content consumed on these platforms and the false narratives conveyed by these multimodal social media postings, such platforms often impact the mental well-being of the users. To reduce these negative effects of multimodal social media content, an important step is to understand creators’ intent behind sharing content and to educate their social network of this intent. Towards this goal, we propose I ntent-o-meter , a perceived human intent prediction model for multimodal (image and text) social media posts. I ntent-o-meter  models ideas from psychology and cognitive modeling literature, in addition to using the visual and textual features for an improved perceived intent prediction model. I ntent-o-meter  leverages Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) factoring in (i) the creator’s attitude towards sharing a post, and (ii) the social norm or perception towards the multimodal post in determining the creator’s intention. We also introduce I ntentgram , a dataset of 55K social media posts scraped from public Instagram profiles. We compare I ntent-o-meter  with state-of-the-art intent prediction approaches on four perceived intent prediction datasets, Intentonomy, MDID, MET-Meme, and I ntentgram . We observe that leveraging TRA in addition to visual and textual features—as opposed to using only the latter–results in improved prediction accuracy by up to \(7.5\%\) in Top-1 accuracy and \(8\%\) in AUC on I ntentgram . In summary, we also develop a web browser application mimicking a popular social media platform and show users social media content overlaid with these intent labels. From our analysis, around \(70\%\) users confirmed that tagging posts with intent labels helped them become more aware of the content consumed, and they would be open to experimenting with filtering content based on these labels. However, more extensive user evaluation is required to understand how adding such perceived intent labels mitigate the negative effects of social media.

Introduction

Social media platforms have become an important part of people’s daily lives. Recent surveys 1 , 2 show that, compared to 10 years ago, the number of Americans using social media to connect with others, engage with news content, share information, and entertain themselves has increased from 40% to 75%.

The positive influence of social media notwithstanding, more recently, various findings 3  have brought to light incidents where users are adversely affected by these social media platforms driven by a lack of control over multimodal content consumed by users. A growing trend shows that content posted by a user represents a false narrative designed to uplift the user’s “social status” in society. In other words, users often tend to change their behavior on social media to deliver a positive impression of themselves 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 . While, this understanding exists, it is not always reinforced in the minds of the audience who is the recipient of this content. Such content, when consumed by others, leads to issues related to body image, anxiety, and mental health–specifically in teenagers—because of unnecessary negative social comparison 9 , 10 .

Over the past few years, research has shown that emotions elicited when a user shares content can be transferred over social media networks leading to users experiencing similar emotions 11 , 12 , 13 . This has been shown to be more prevalent in image/video based applications 14 , 15 . Therefore, to reduce the negative effects of such content shared on social media, an important step is to understand creators’ intent behind sharing content and to educate their social network of this intent to minimize any negative implications 16 . Towards this goal, several efforts have been made to understand this intent behind sharing multimodal social media content 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 .

Perceived human intent

While prior work in this space does not make this distinction, we wish to make it clear to the reader that we are interested in the perceived creator intent for a multimodal social media post, more specifically we are focused on audience-perceived creators’ intent. This is important because we do not have groundtruth from creators themselves regarding their intent behind every multimodal post. Furthermore, for the scope of this work, because our goal is to protect social media users from vulnerable multimodal content on social media, it makes more sense to pursue the perceived creator intent. Furthermore, once a message has been created and has left the creator, it is up to the audience to interpret the post, which is another reason why we focus our attention on audience-perceived intent for the creators’ content.

However, understanding this perceived human intent behind such multimodal content is challenging for several reasons. First, there is no standard intent taxonomy that exists specifically to these social media multimodal data. Some of the common taxonomies for perceived intent for social media content have been proposed by Jia et al. 17 , Kruk et al. 18 , Zhang et al. 22 and, Xu et al. 23 . These prior works scrape posts from various social media platforms like Instagram, Unsplash ( https://unsplash.com ), Twitter, Weibo, Facebook, and Google Images. However, the intent prediction models proposed by these prior works for such multimodal data are limited to the standard visual and textual understanding. Furthermore, these methods employ black box neural networks that lack explainability and are, in general, susceptible to domain shift issues. With respect to the intent taxonomies, there is a diverse and wide-ranging taxonomy. We have listed these various taxonomies in Suppl Appendix 1 , Suppl Table 3 . All others seem to be Furthermore, understanding creator intent goes beyond the standard visual recognition tasks and is a psychological task inherent to human cognition and behavior 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 .

Main contributions

The following are the novel contributions of our work.

Detecting perceived intent for social media content: we propose I ntent-o-meter , a perceived human intent prediction model for multimodal social media posts. In addition to visual (image) and textual (caption) features, I ntent-o-meter  is modeled on the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) by designing new input features for modeling (i) the creator’s attitude towards sharing a post, and (ii) the social norm or perception towards the post in determining the creator’s intention.

Educating audience with creator’s intent: we developed a web application, similar to a social media platform, with these predicted intent labels displayed on posts to gather users’ feedback. We tested this application with 100 participants and gathered feedback on the use of such intent labels and its potential impact on reducing the negative effects of social media content on audience.

A multimodal social media content intent prediction dataset: we introduce I ntentgram , a perceived intent prediction dataset curated from public Instagram profiles using Apify ( https://apify.com ). At 55K samples consisting of images, captions, and hashtags, with a 7-label intent taxonomy derived from Kruk et al. 18 , I ntentgram  is the largest ( \(4\times \) the second largest) dataset to date.

Empirical evaluations on the Intentonomy, MDID, and MET-Meme datasets show that leveraging TRA in addition to visual and textual features results in improved prediction accuracy by up to \(7.5\%\) in top-1 accuracy and \(8\%\) in AUC on I ntentgram . To our knowledge, our perceived intent prediction model is the first to leverage such a theory, modeling attitudes and social norms, in the context of social media. We believe that doing so makes the model take into account social media characteristics and user behavior; and hence results in increased model performance. We also analyzed user feedback on the web application that displayed intent labels alongside posts, and observed that that 70% of users found the intent labels useful.

I ntent-o-meter : given as input a social media post, \(\varvec {{\mathcal{P}}} = \{\varvec {{\mathcal{P}}}_I, \varvec {{\mathcal{P}}}_C, \varvec {{\mathcal{P}}}_{{\mathcal {H}}}\}\) , which has three components (an image, \(\varvec {{\mathcal{P}}}_I\) , with an associated caption, \(\varvec {{\mathcal{P}}}_C\) , and a set of hashtags, \( \varvec {{\mathcal{P}}}_{{\mathcal {H}}} = \{ \varvec {{\mathcal{P}}}_{h_1},\varvec {{\mathcal{P}}}_{h_2}, \dots , \varvec {{\mathcal{P}}}_{h_n}\}\) ), our goal is to predict the perceived intent label for \(\varvec {{\mathcal{P}}}\) . I ntent-o-meter  has three streams. In the first stream (orange), we encode the visual features of the image, in the second stream (blue) we encode the captions, and finally, in the third stream (green) we model the Theory of Reasoned Action; both attitude of the author/creator and the social norm of the kind of post , \({\textbf{P}}\) . We then fuse the three streams (dark red) to make the final perceived intent prediction. The networks consist of fully-connected layers (light green), LSTM layer (blue), concatenation operation (dark red), and softmax layer (yellow).

Related work

In this section, we discuss previous works in related domains. To begin, we first go over the impact that social media can have on mental well-being of users (“ Social media’s impact on mental well-being ”). We elaborate on the need to infer the intent of social media content in “ Measuring perceived intent on social media ”. Then in “ Social media intent recognition models ”, we summarize various datasets and models that have been proposed in the recent past for inferring intent for social media content. We also provide an understanding of the Theory of Reasoned Action and our motivation for using this for our model in “ Social media and theory of reasoned action ”.

Social media’s impact on mental well-being

Social media sites like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter have become an important part of our daily lives, especially for young adults 29 , 30 . The pressure to publish “socially acceptable” and “socially likable” content often results in a depiction of a false narrative on social media; more specifically image/video-based platforms like Instagram. Sophisticated editing tools and filters add to this false narrative. The impact of such content on young people is of grave concern. They often compare themselves to others (what they see) to assess their opinions and abilities, and such comparison has been known to lead to depression 31 . Such comparisons can have serious impact on physical and mental well-being. Young people also quantify their social acceptance in terms of a number of likes/comments/shares/follows 32 which again traps them in a vicious circle.

Measuring perceived intent on social media

“Intent” is a broad term and can be used in various contexts (next steps/plan of agent 33 , 34 , actions 35 , causal reasons try to identify actions like “play”, “clean”, and “fall” among many others and try to analyze the causal reason behind these actions, emotions, and, attitudes 23 ).

However, such interpretations are not enough to answer the question, “Why do people post content on social media platforms?”. A few prior works 17 , 18 , 21 , 22 , 36 have proposed datasets and intent taxonomies that can answer the above question. However, there is little consensus among the taxonomies proposed. The pressure to publish “socially likable” content often results in a depiction of a false narrative on social media. Sophisticated editing tools and filters add to this false narrative. The impact of such content on young people is of grave concern, leading to comparing themselves to others (what they see) to assess their opinions and abilities, quantify their social acceptance in terms of number of likes/comments/shares/follows 31 , 32 . A step towards this is educating and making young adults aware of what to expect on such platforms (intent of the content creator), and ensuring they feel less affected and less vulnerable to what they see.

Social media intent recognition models

Intent Classification for social media data provides various challenges. As discussed in “ Measuring perceived intent on social media ” , there is little consensus in existing intent taxonomies built for social media content. We summarize the various datasets and taxonomies for intent prediction for social media data in Suppl Table  3 . Some recent works have also explored intent recognition models for various datasets. Kruk et al. 18 and Zhang et al. 22 use both visual (image) and textual (captions) modalities to predict an author’s intent for their Instagram posts. Jia et. al. 17 focus more on predicting intent labels based on the amount of object/context information, and use hashtags as an auxiliary modality to help with better intent prediction. The scope of these works is limited to just the visual and textual features of the data. Understanding human intent, however, is a psychological task 37 , extending beyond standard visual recognition. Therefore, we conjecture that additional cues from social media psychology literature are needed to improve the state-of-the-art in intent prediction.

Social media and theory of reasoned action

The Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) 38 assumes that people make rational choices when they engage in a specific behavior (e.g. posting a content on social media ), and that behavior is driven by intentions . Furthermore, TRA lays out the following two factors that determine intention : (i) attitude toward the behavior and (ii) the subjective norms associated with the behavior. Attitudes toward the behavior refers to the overall evaluations of the performance of a behavior in question, and subjective norms refers to perceived pressure or opinion from relevant social networks. Generally, individuals who have more favorable attitudes and perceive stronger subjective norms regarding a behavior are more likely to show greater intentions to perform a behavior. Prior research 39 , 40 , 41 has used TRA to reason and develop an understanding of what motivates social media users to share information online. They confirm that TRA can be used as a model for social networking behavior. They also find that both intention and subjective norm are positively associated with intention to use social media 42 , 43 . While these studies, however, confirm TRA and its role in modeling user intent on social media, no work so far uses TRA to predict user intent

In this section, we present I ntent-o-meter , our algorithm for inferring the perceived creator’s intent in social media posts. We formally state the problem and give an overview of our approach. Following that, we explain all the components of our model, I ntent-o-meter , in “ I ntent-o-meter : approach ”  to “ Fusion: inferring the perceived intent label ”.

Problem statement

Perceived human intent prediction: given as input a social media post , \(\varvec {{\mathcal{P}}} = \{\varvec {{\mathcal{P}}}_I, \varvec {{\mathcal{P}}}_C, \varvec {{\mathcal{P}}}_{{\mathcal {H}}}\}\) , which has three components: an image , \(\varvec {{\mathcal{P}}}_I\) , with an associated caption , \(\varvec {{\mathcal{P}}}_C\) , and a set of hashtags , \( \varvec {{\mathcal{P}}}_{{\mathcal {H}}} = \{ \varvec {{\mathcal{P}}}_{h_1},\varvec {{\mathcal{P}}}_{h_2}, \dots , \varvec {{\mathcal{P}}}_{h_n}\}\) , our goal is to predict the perceived intent label for \(\varvec {{\mathcal{P}}}\) .

We present an overview of our perceived intent prediction model, I ntent-o-meter , in Fig.  1 . As our input is multimodal, we refer to multimodal deep learning literature and extract both the visual features from the input image \(\varvec {{\mathcal{P}}}_I\) as well as the textual features from the associated caption. For the former, we use a state-of-the-art visual feature extraction backbone network, the ResNet architecture family while for the latter, we leverage the GLoVe word embeddings with a recurrent neural network. In addition, we also extract features that model the Theory of Reasoned Action; the attitude of the creator and the social norm of the kind of post , \(\varvec {{\mathcal{P}}}\) . We concatenate the three features in late fusion to make the final intent prediction. In the following sections, we describe each component in more detail.

I ntent-o-meter : approach

Stream 1: visual modality.

The dominant modality for such social media platforms is often the visual modality, i.e., images and videos. To be consistent with prior work, we use the ResNet-18 network pretrained on the ImageNet dataset 44  to encode the visual features 45 . We use the output of the second-to-last layer for the image representation ( \({\mathbb {R}}^{N \times 512}\) ). To fine-tune this, we then add two trainable fully-connected layers ( \(\phi \) ) with ReLU non-linearity and 0.5 dropout, to finally get \(f_\textsc {visual}\) .

Stream 2: textual modality

Prior work in multimodal learning show that visual information is often not enough to recognize human intent 46 , 47 . We use the user-generated captions, \(\varvec {{\mathcal{P}}}_C\) , of the images as a complementary cue. To encode these captions we leverage pre-trained GLoVe word embeddings 48 to encode caption words in 50 dimensions. We use an LSTM layer, followed by two fully connected layers ( \(\phi \) ) with ReLu non-linearity and 0.5 dropout to get \(f_\textsc {textual}\) .

Stream 3: modeling TRA

As discussed previously, according to Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), individuals who have more favorable attitudes and perceive stronger subjective norms regarding a behavior (in this case, posting particular content) are more likely to show greater intentions to execute that behavior. Many studies 39 , 40 , 41 have validated the influence of TRA on users while posting content on social media, but no method exists that computationally models both these components from a post, \(\varvec {{\mathcal{P}}}\) . We describe this below.

Stream 3(a) attitude

In TRA, a user’s attitude indicates how strongly the creator believes in the post they are sharing online. Since “belief” in a post is subjective, we refer to social media psychology literature where studies have correlated engagement and frequency with social media use and in particular, one such study 49 states, “highly engaged youth participated on social media platforms often and in diverse ways: messaging friends, reacting to and circulating others’ posted content, and generating their own”. We model such engagement in two ways. The first is via caption sentiments. Kruk et al. 18 show that two different captions for the same Instagram image can completely change the overall meaning of the image-caption pair. With this intuition we compute the polarity of the sentiments expressed in the captions. We use the VADER 50 library to compute these features.

The second way in which we model user engagement and frequency on social media is via the editing and filters applied on the images before they are posted on the various social media platforms or sophisticated cameras used for capturing images. Doing so may be reflective of the resources spent in preparing the post and indicative of the attitude the creator has towards the image they are sharing. To help our model learn this, we compute k image quality or visual aesthetic features, \(q_1, q_2, \ldots , q_k\) . These include a collection of a subset of visual aesthetic features like Auto Color Correlogram, Color and Edge Directivity Descriptor, Color Layout, Edge Histogram, Fuzzy Color and Texture Histogram, Gabor, Joint descriptor joining CEDD and FCTH in one histogram, Scalable Color, Tamura, and Local Binary Patterns extracted using the LIRE ( http://www.lire-project.net/ ) library. As suggested by prior work, we also extract various features for color, edges, boxes and segments using Peng et al. 51 .

We concatenate the features and use fully connected layers and non-linearity to compute \(f_{3_a}\) .

Stream 3(b) social norm

The goal here is to understand how well the content posted is perceived socially. The usual meaning of social norms is the set of rules that define acceptable/appropriate behaviors. However, we are trying to understand the meaning of social norm in the world of social media. One such indicator is the use of hashtags \(\varvec {{\mathcal{P}}}\) with social media posts. While some creators select hashtags for their post based on relevance, but it can also be about choosing hashtags that will maximize their reach to a bigger audience. And, this is the decision that can play a huge role in the intent of the post. Furthermore, what we want to capitalize on is how social media platforms are built and are making creators select hashtags. They suggest hashtags based on whats most popular, catchy and will cause more engagement on their platform. Moreover, prior work 52 , 53 has shown that hashtags are directly correlated to growing one’s social network and expanding their audience. We assume that the most influential hashtags appear first in the set of available hashtags, \( \varvec {{\mathcal{P}}}_{{\mathcal {H}}} = \{ \varvec {{\mathcal{P}}}_{h_1},\varvec {{\mathcal{P}}}_{h_2}, \dots , \varvec {{\mathcal{P}}}_{h_n}\}\) . This is a reasonable assumption due to the auto-suggest feature in most devices. Assuming a linear piece-wise weighting scheme, with a weight of \(\frac{n-1}{n}\) , for the hashtags, we use pre-trained GLoVe word embeddings 48 to encode the words as \(50-\) dimensional features. We use an LSTM layer, followed by two fully connected layers with non-linearity and dropout to get \(f_\textsc {social}\) .

We conclude this section by emphasizing that our current TRA model, based on caption sentiments, image aesthetics, and hashtag embeddings, is heuristic and may be one of several possible way alternatively modeling TRA. It should, accordingly, not be presumed as a gold standard way of computationally modeling TRA—that remains an open research question—and we hope this work is a stepping stone towards further research in this area.

Fusion: inferring the perceived intent label

To fuse the four features/encodings we have computed, \(f_\textsc {visual}, f_\textsc {textual}, f_\textsc {attitude}\) , and \(f_\textsc {social}\) from the three streams, we concatenate these features before making any individual intent inferences.

We use two fully-connected layers followed by a softmax layer. This output is used for computing the loss and back-propagating the error back to the network.

User study setup

The study consists of a web application where users interact with an “Instagram-like” interface in which the posts are taken from I ntentgram . For each post, users also see an intent label for that post (highlighted in green on top in Fig.  2 a). We instruct participants to scroll through the feed for 5–10 min to experience the interface.

Prior to the interacting with the interface, we ensure that (a) participants are between the ages of 18 and 30 and (b) they sign a consent form. In addition, we request them to answer a pre-study questionnaire which consists of six questions (Suppl Appendix Fig.  1 a) based on their current usage of Instagram. We also provide a screen recording ( https://youtu.be/9w1dj93evyA ) of our web application to the users in case they have issues accessing the web application. Finally, after the task, we ask participants to answer a post-study questionnaire, that consists of another six questions to collect their feedback on our web application  (Suppl Appendix Fig.  1 b).

Ethical considerations

We note that our dataset sources Instagram posts from public profiles scraped. However, in interest of preserving privacy, we will release ResNet-18 features of all these images only. Furthermore, we provide a detailed explanation of procuring the Instagram data for reproducibility. The user study protocol was approved by the Institutional Review Boards (IRB) of the University of Maryland, College Park (IRB #1890563-2). Written informed consent was obtained from all participants and/or their legal guardian(s). The authors confirm that all methods, research, and experiments were performed in accordance with relevant IRB guidelines and regulations.

We present our perceived creator intent taxonomy and data collection procedure for I ntentgram  followed by a comparison with other social media intent datasets. More detailed insights are available in Suppl Appendix  1 .

Taxonomy, collection, and pre-processing

7-label taxonomy: we follow the intent taxonomy used by Kruk et al. 18 , as they also define the labels on Instagram data. We summarize this further in Table  1 .

Scraping instagram posts: we used the Apify scraper to collect Instagram posts from publicly available profiles, similar to Kruk et al. 18 . As a first step, we begin by scraping Instagram posts belonging to the seven categories (Table  1 ) using hashtags provided by Kruk et al. We initially collected and clustered a large number of Instagram content to understand and identify popular hashtags. Based on the frequency of usage, we choose top-10 hashtags for each of the intent labels. We have added these hashtags in Table  2 in Suppl Appendix  1 .

Dataset Pre-processing: with an aim to curate a large-scale collection of publicly available Instagram posts we scrape 2000 samples for all the hashtags under consideration. Thus after the initial phase, we end up getting 1, 40, 000 posts in total. In the process of scraping content, we do not limit ourselves to users with limited number of followers, and only scrape based on the hashtags. Hence, posts scraped could be from individuals with a wide range of following including those who use social media platforms as their job. The Apify platform provides a mirror of the original Instagram posts (viable only for a short time) to download them. We then apply pre-processing and cleaning as described in Suppl Appendix “I ntentgram cleaning and processing” to get the final dataset consisting of 55, 272 posts. For fair evaluation, we restrict ourselves to a total of 10, 053 samples (equally distributed across all seven categories) for the purpose of training, validation, and testing. We will release the entire dataset to facilitate further research by the community.

Dataset statistics: we also collect relevant metadata for each post such as caption, hashtags, number of likes, and number of comments. Due to privacy concerns, we release only the ResNet-18 features of the images in Instagram posts (a commonly adopted practice in social media research 18 , 54 , 55 ).

Comparing I ntentgram  with SOTA datasets

Table  2 compares our proposed dataset, I ntentgram , with state-of-the-art intent classification datasets. I ntentgram  uses the 7-label taxonomy ( advocative, entertainment, exhibitionist, expressive, informative, promotive, provocative ) borrowed from MDID dataset, which is based on Goffman and Hogan’s prior work 57 , 58 for Instagram data. I ntentgram  is the most diverse in terms of available modalities and features consisting of images, captions, and hashtags. The MDID dataset 18 also uses Instagram as the source data but is \(40\times \) smaller than I ntentgram . In fact, I ntentgram  is the largest dataset containing approximately 55K data points. Finally, we note that while the MDID, Intentonomy, MET-Mete, MultiMET and the dataset proposed by Purohit et al. are specifically intended for intent classification and social media analysis, the MIntRec and the WHYACT are in fact action prediction datasets.

Our experiments answer the following two questions: (i) Does modeling TRA result in better intent prediction in social media posts? and (ii) How does I ntent-o-meter  compare to state-of-the-art (SOTA) methods?

Experimental setup

Dataset splits: we use four intent prediction datasets: Intentonomy 17 , MDID 18 , and MET-Meme 21 , and I ntentgram . We used the original splits provided by the authors for Intentonomy, MDID, and MET-Meme datasets. For the purpose of experiments, we sample 10, 053 posts from I ntentgram  (1443, 1154, 1415, 1576, 1475, 1420, and, 1570 posts respectively for the seven intent label) and we split training, validation, and testing sets in the ratio 60 : 20 : 20, resulting in 6031, 2011, and 2011 samples for train, validation, and test sets, respectively.

Evaluation metrics: different datasets have used different metrics for evaluation. The Intentonomy dataset uses Micro F1 score and Macro F1 score. Similarly, MDID reports accuracy and AUC metric. For the MET-Meme dataset, we have reported and compared against both validation and test F1 scores. For our dataset, I ntentgram  we report Accuracy, AUC metric, and Micro-F1 score.

Training details: all our results were generated on an NVIDIA GeForce GTX1080 Ti GPU. Hyper-parameters for our model were tuned on the validation set to find the best configurations. We used Adam optimizer for optimizing our models with a batch size of 50. We experimented with the range of our model’s hyperparameters such as: dropout \(\{0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6\}\) , learning rate \(\{1e^{-2}, 1e^{-3}, 1e^{-4}\}\) , number of epochs \(\{50, 75, 100, 125\}\) , and the hidden dimension of LSTM layers \(\{32, 24, 16\}\) .

Benefits of TRA in perceived intent prediction

In Table  3 , we highlight the benefit of modeling TRA, in addition to leveraging the visual and textual features obtained from images, captions, and hashtags. Specifically, we ablate I ntent-o-meter  on all four datasets and report the F1 score, accuracy, and the AUC. In particular, we compare the results in the first column (“ \(1+2\) ”) with the last column (“I ntent-o-meter ”). Our results show that leveraging TRA improves the F1 score by \(7.96\%\) and \(8.85\%\) on the Intentonomy and MET-Meme, results in higher accuracy by \(4\%\) each on MDID and I ntentgram , and increases AUC by 5.9 points on I ntentgram .

We also perform additional tests where we individually analyze the individual effect of embedding the caption sentiments and image aesthetics as well as associated hashtags. In particular, the column under (“ \(1+2+3(a)\) ”) highlights the benefit of modeling caption sentiment and hashtags ordering. We also explore the impact of sentiment and hashtags, the two aspects being modeled in stream 3(a). We observe that sentiment is more helpful than image quality for all datasets except Intentonomy. This is not unexpected as it is majorly an image-based dataset. And in the (“ \(1+2+3(b)\) ”) column, we analyze Eq.  6 by comparing linear piece-wise weighting with uniform weighting with each weight set to 1, and conclude that weighting, in some form, is better. Future work involves exploring more sophisticated weighting schemes including transformer-based attention.

We believe that including and modeling TRA the way we do is incorporating human behavior to some extent and is also capturing social media characteristics (like hashtags); which probably explain the increase in the performance of I ntent-o-meter . In addition to the above ablation experiment, we can also draw further evidence for TRA from our experiments comparing I ntent-o-meter  with state-of-the-art intent prediction methods that solely rely on visual and textual features, which we describe below.

Comparing I ntent-o-meter  with SOTA

We summarize our comparisons of our model with SOTA methods on the MDID (Table  4 ), Intentonomy (Table  5 ), MET-Meme (Table  6 ), and our dataset I ntentgram  (Table  7 ) respectively (not all codes provided; hence the SOTA baselines are dataset-specific).

Performance on MDID dataset: we compare against the prediction model proposed by Kruk et al. 18 (Code replicated by us due to unavailability) and Gonzaga et al. 59 . While Kruk et al. propose the use of image and captions for predicting intent labels, Gonzaga et al. create a transductive graph learning method. We observe that our model outperforms these methods by up to 3.7% in top-1 accuracy and 5.3 AUC points.

Performance on Intentonomy dataset: we compare against the prediction model proposed by Jia et al. 17 who propose the use of hashtags as an auxiliary modality for predicting intent labels. We observe that our model outperforms their method by up to 3.59% in F1 score.

Performance on MET-Meme dataset: we compare against the baseline prediction model proposed by Xu et al. 21 who only use image modality to predict intent labels and Kruk et al. 18 . We observe that our model outperforms these methods by up to 6.9% in F1 score.

\({\text {Performance on our dataset, } \textsc {Intentgram} }\) : we compare against the intent prediction model proposed by Kruk et al. We observe that our model outperforms these methods by 4% in top-1 accuracy and F1, as well as by 6 AUC points.

Conflating our results obtained from the ablation experiment in the previous section with our comparison results with SOTA methods that do not use TRA on 4 standard datasets, we find strong evidence that modeling TRA significantly improves intent prediction in terms of F1 score, top-1 accuracy, and AUC.

Ablation experiments

In Table  8 , we justify the choice of our features/models for stream 1 (visual) and stream 2 (textual) in I ntent-o-meter . In order to maintain consistency with prior work in social media, we employed ResNet-18 for visual features and GloVe embedding for textual features, as they are well-suited for the size of our dataset. We conducted experiments with alternative embedding models such as Word2Vec and FastText, we found that GloVe provided slightly better performance. We also tried using ResNet-50 and ResNet-101, with the former showing a marginal improvement of 1% in accuracy, while the latter resulted in decreased performance.

Understanding human preference

Because we are inferring the perceived creator intent, it is important to understand human preferences and their reaction to these intent labels that are being displayed alongside social media posts. Towards this, we conducted a user study, similar to T-Moodifier 16 , to answer two questions: (i) do these perceived intent labels on posts make users more aware of the content they consume? and (ii) would they prefer to have their content filtered by such labels? We describe the user study setup in “Fusion: inferring the perceived intent label” and analyze the results of the study in “Understanding human preference”.

User study analysis

User study setup and analysis: we summarize our user study setup and findings here. In ( a ), we show a screenshot with various components highlights, in ( b ) we report the background of the 100 participants recruited for the user study and, finally in ( c ) we report the answers to the questions of the pre-questionnaire and post questionnaire.

We recruit 100 participants for our user study (50 identify as female and 50 as male). We summarise statistics about the participants age and geographical locations in Fig.  2 b ( rows 2,3 ). We also gather information about their amount of usage of social media application, Instagram. In Fig.  2 b ( row 4 ), we report the frequency of social media logins and in Fig.  2 b ( row 5 ), we record the average time taken to publish a post by participants.

In addition to statistics about the participants, we also gather information about the role of social media in their lives. In Fig.  2 c, 67% lean towards believing they are up to date with their friends lives because of social media and 77% participants also believe that social media is not a true reflection of their friends’ lives. Similarly, 37% participants report getting affected by what they see online, while 25% unsure if they are getting affected. As a testimony to our web interface, roughly half participants, 53% reported that the display of the perceived intent labels was not a hindrance to their social media application experience; 86% participants seem to in agreement with the taxonomy of intent labels used to tag posts; and 84% participants also report a resemblance to the posts shown and the posts they see on their own personal social media feeds. And finally, 70% participants reported both that the displayed intent labels helped them become aware of the content they are consuming on social media and that they would prefer filtering the content based on such intent labels.

We had also asked participants for optional suggestions, comments and feedback on the web application. A common theme among the suggestions was the presentation of the intent labels. One participant suggested color-coding intent labels; and another suggesting making intent labels optional, and letting users control if they would want to view posts with labels or without labels. Some participants appreciated the green highlighting that distinguished the labels whereas others mentioned preferring a more subtle appearance e.g in a corner in a smaller font. We provide a more in-depth analysis based on gender, age and social media usage in Suppl Appendix  “More userstudy analysis”.

We proposed I ntent-o-meter , a perceived human intent prediction model for social media posts using visual and textual modalities, along with the Theory of Reasoned Action. We evaluated our model on the Intentonomy, MDID, and MET-Meme datasets. We introduced I ntentgram , a dataset of 55 K social media posts scraped from public Instagram profiles. Finally, we also developed a web application with intent labels displayed on the posts and test it with existing Instagram users.

We acknowledge that TRA may constitute one of several ways to model psychologically cognitive cues in social media posts. Using other theories that reason about human behavior like, Theory of Perceived Behavior 60 can also be helpful for understanding human intent. We will also build upon already existing features by identifying additional features, e.g. develop better user profiling, understand a user’s social network, and their social media activity for better encapsulating a person’s motive.

Our user study indicates that tagging posts with intent labels helps users become more aware of the content consumed, and they would be open to experiment with filtering content based on the labels. However, more extensive user evaluation is required to understand how adding such perceived intent labels mitigate the negative effects of social media.

Social media has changed drastically over the last few years. With an increased usage of social media platforms, we do have a wealth of potential data and vast amount of insights that can be drawn from this data. However in an attempt to protect users data, platforms are increasingly limiting developer and researchers access to mining data on their platforms. We believe problem statements like inferring perceived human intent can greatly benefit if we can have access to user profile, their past posts leading up to the post we are studying and also their social network. But, we understand this is not possible. We believe that social media research in general is proposing solutions with these data restrictions and so are we. While we do believe that this makes the solutions harder, however we do not think this changes the validity of the solutions.

Data availability

We have put our dataset at https://gamma.umd.edu/researchdirections/affectivecomputing/emotionrecognition/intent_o_meter .

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Trisha Mittal, Sanjoy Chowdhury, Pooja Guhan, Snikitha Chelluri & Dinesh Manocha

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Parents need help regulating their children's social media. A government ban would help.

The kids off social media act would prevent kids younger than 13 from accessing social media and prohibit companies from programming algorithms for anyone under 17..

Parents worry about a lot of things.

But one of our persistent concerns is our kids' smartphones. We justify their use by embracing their necessity. How else can we communicate about school pickups and sports practices?

With that comes access to various minefields, from gaming to social media. As they go off to school and other activities, we wonder if they see things they shouldn't, talk to people they shouldn't or rot their brains with excessive screen time.

The remedies are obvious, just hard to implement: Don't get kids a phone, ban social media or allow social media with boundaries and parental controls. A new federal bill might help parents find a solution.

Parents, children face challenges with social media and smartphones

We know now that excessive social media use increases depression and anxiety . A 2023 surgeon general advisory found that 40% of children ages 8 to 12 are on social media .

Social media and smartphone use have become so commonplace and ubiquitous that it truly does seem hard, if not impossible, to police, given everything parents have going on, including working a full-time job, maintaining relationships, and caring for themselves and their children.

Biden, Trump need extremists to win. It's pushing average voters away.

I have four children, and I'm constantly ruminating over the question: What is more important than my child's physical safety and emotional well-being?

Three of my children have phones, so I've banned social media altogether. They also have limits on their screen time and can't keep their phones in their rooms overnight. I still check their phones regularly but confess that constant surveillance has become an omnipresent task that provides endless questions and few solutions.

What's the best way to help our kids navigate technology?

There are ways to hide social media apps and bypass parental controls. Once kids become teenagers, they're not sitting in the living room 24/7 under parental supervision. They're often in school, with friends, working a job, on an athletic team or maybe playing an instrument. They're busy but still on their phones.

Most parents know that social media use, especially multihour daily use, isn't great for their teen's emotional health , but they still feel ill-equipped to help their teen handle something as big as social media has become. "Did you see that TikTok?" has to be one of the most common refrains in high school now. In fact, fitting in with their peers is probably the only upside to social media if conformity is a plus (it's not).

The downsides are worse than most parents realize. In January, Congress grilled the CEOs of Meta, TikTok and others and revealed that sexual predators are rampant and other negative behaviors like bullying and eating disorders are magnified. Worse, all the executives knew this existed, and while they seemed to be genuinely trying to curb it, their own efforts fell short.

So do parents need the government's help?

This issue is so pressing that it spurred a Republican and a Democrat to co-sponsor legislation that would essentially ban social media for young kids.

If passed, the Kids Off Social Media Act would prevent kids younger than 13 from accessing social media, prohibit social media from programming algorithms for teens under 17, and give schools the ability to block access to social media.

It's part of multiple attempts by lawmakers to place guardrails around the internet for children, including the Kids Online Safety Act .

Congress fails us again: Congress voted against funding a cure for cancer just to block a win for Biden

Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, both dads, have paired up to unveil the Kids Off Social Media Act in the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

"It’s really hard to be a teenager today. And it is incredibly frightening to be a parent today,” Cruz told The Washington Post . “This legislation is trying to take a meaningful step to protect our kids.”

If passed, it's easy to see how parents everywhere, as well as school administrators and teachers, might sigh a breath of collective relief. However, it seems well within their purview to ban smartphones during class and block access to social media on district Wi-Fi – something that schools in Florida have already done and more are considering. The legislators say they haven't met a parent who doesn't support the bill because they feel pressure for their kids to be on social media.

“The reality of life is there's a moral hazard. And no parent wants to be the one that forces his or her child to be excluded from the school social scene, to be ostracized from their friends," Cruz told me. "And so I've had multiple conversations with moms and dads who are frustrated. They don't want their kids using these devices on these social media sites. ... But I think parents as a whole would much prefer that all the kids be protected. And this bill was designed to strike a compromise."

As a parent, I welcome a federal social media ban for kids

Parental rights advocates on the left might argue that social media helps marginalized children or is their only outlet, even at a young age. Others on the right might balk at a bill that intervenes with their own role as a parent . It's also antithetical, some might say, for a Republican to sponsor a bill allowing a government bureaucracy to intervene in a child's daily habits.

Social media companies won't like the bill, either; they'll claim it's unconstitutional. Cruz, like many conservatives, has departed from the more libertarian, live-and-let-live stance.

As a parent, I have yet to see how rampant social media use for kids under 13 is helpful or good for them, so I welcome a targeted and carefully crafted ban. It takes the issue out of parents' hands, just like laws about driving, alcohol consumption or tattoos. The Federal Trade Commission's enforcement of the ban is tied to the bill, so the FTC couldn't deviate from the text, preventing a slippery slope of additional bans.

Parenting is already challenging. Figuring out how to balance a tool that has become necessary and harmful makes it more so. Kids like mine wouldn't need an adjustment period, and if the bill passes and 11-year-olds become distraught because it's enforced, that might underscore its importance.

Nicole Russell is an opinion columnist with USA TODAY.   She lives in Texas with her four kids.

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UK tells tech firms to 'tame algorithms' to protect children

Social media platforms like facebook, instagram and tiktok will have to "tame" their algorithms to filter out or downgrade harmful material to help protect children under proposed british measures published on wednesday. the plan by regulator ofcom is one of more than 40 practical steps tech companies will need to implement under britain's online safety act, which became law in october..

Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok will have to "tame" their algorithms to filter out or downgrade harmful material to help protect children under proposed British measures published on Wednesday.

The plan by regulator Ofcom is one of more than 40 practical steps tech companies will need to implement under Britain's Online Safety Act, which became law in October. The platforms must also have robust age checks to prevent children seeing harmful content linked to suicide, self-harm and pornography, the regulator said.

Ofcom Chief Executive Melanie Dawes said children's experiences online had been blighted by harmful content they couldn't avoid or control. "In line with new online safety laws, our proposed Codes firmly place the responsibility for keeping children safer on tech firms," she said.

"They will need to tame aggressive algorithms that push harmful content to children in their personalised feeds and introduce age-checks so children get an experience that's right for their age." Social media companies use complex algorithms to prioritise content and keep users engaged. However, the fact that they amplify similar content can lead to children being influenced by increasing amounts of harmful material.

Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan said introducing the kind of age checks that young people experienced in the real world and addressing algorithms would bring about a fundamental change in how children in Britain experienced the online world. "To platforms, my message is engage with us and prepare," she said. "Do not wait for enforcement and hefty fines – step up to meet your responsibilities and act now."

Ofcom said it expected to publish its final Children's Safety Codes of Practice within a year, following a consultation period that ends on July 17. Once it is approved by parliament, the regulator said it would start enforcement that will be backed by action including fines for non-compliance.

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Stay alert: report misuse of dgp's images on social media, cautions j-k police, unesco report spotlights harmful effects of social media on young girls, bihar content creator and social media influencer manish kashyap joins bjp, bjp alleges misrepresentation by congress in sharing home minister shah's speech on social media.

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Green metropolises: navigating the path to sustainable urban growth globally, the creative frontier: unleashing potential with generative ai, customized minds: the ai revolution in learning and behavioral change, transformative strategies for high-density cities, connect us on.

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Florida passes law restricting teen social media access

At a time when US federal government is pushing for a ban on TikTok, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has signed a law restricting children's access to social media. The law will come into effect on January 1, 2025.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Monday signed into law a bill restricting social media access for minors, as concerns grow over the negative effects such platforms are having on teens in the United States.

The signing came barely two weeks after federal lawmakers in the House and Senate passed a bill that could see the Chinese-owned video platform TikTok banned in the US .

DeSantis on Monday said his administration is "trying to help parents navigate this very difficult terrain that we have now with raising kids."

What we know so far

The law, which will go into effect on January 1, 2025, will bar Florida children 13 and under from having social media accounts, and 14- and 15-year-olds will need parental consent to use them.

"Governor Ron DeSantis signs HB3 to protect children from the harms of social media," the Florida Representative wrote on his official X account, formerly Twitter.

Monday's bill was a watered down version of one previously put forth by Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives Paul Renner that would have banned all children under 16 from social media.

The new version of the bill also dropped wording that detailed exactly how platforms would have to verify a user's age. Though most social media platforms require users to be 13 or older, they do little in terms of enforcement.

The new law does not target any one company but is aimed at restricting access to platforms that use "addictive" features such as "likes," push notifications, auto-play videos and those that encourage "infinite scrolling."

According to Speaker Renner, social media is fraught with risks from traffickers and pedophiles . He also claimed "social media platforms have caused a devastating effect in the mental well being of our children."

"Our bill is focused on addiction," said Renner. "Unlike an adult who can make an adult decision… a child, in their brain development, doesn’t have the ability to know they are being sucked into these addictive technologies, and to see the harm and step away from it."

Child protection vs. free speech: battle lines drawn

The law has sparked concern among those who fear it sets a precedent for restricting free speech online .

At the same time, there has also been growing concern across the country about the effects of social media on child and teen development. While proponents claim the social media ban gives parents oversight in the matter, others say the government should stay out of such issues altogether.

Renner said he expects social media companies will, "sue the second after this is signed. But you know what? We're going to beat them. We're going to beat them and we're never, ever going to stop."

DeSantis, former Republican presidential candidate and a combative "culture warrior," has seen similarly ambitious legislation overturned before. Just recently, for instance, a majority Republican appeals court struck down his signature 2022 "Stop Woke Act" for violating free speech rights.

Those opposing the new law, among them giant tech companies like Meta, say it not only violates free speech rights, it also strips away parental authority — something DeSantis and fellow Republicans claim to champion.

"This bill goes too far in taking away parents' rights," Democratic Representative Anna Eskamani said in a statement Monday. "Instead of banning social media access, it would be better to ensure improved parental oversight tools and improved access to data to stop bad actors — alongside major investments in Florida's mental health systems and programs."

ssa, js/jsi (AFP, AP)

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Tech firms must ‘tame’ algorithms under Ofcom child safety rules

Regulator calls on social media firms to use robust age checks to keep harmful content away from children

Social media firms have been told to “tame aggressive algorithms” that recommend harmful content to children, as part of Ofcom’s new safety codes of practice.

The children’s safety codes, introduced as part of the Online Safety Act, let Ofcom set new, tight rules for internet companies and how they can interact with children. It calls on services to make their platforms child-safe by default or implement robust age checks to identify children and give them safer versions of the experience.

For those sites with age checks, Ofcom will require algorithmic curation to be tweaked to limit the risks to younger users. That would require sites such as Instagram and TikTok to ensure the suggested posts and “for you” pages explicitly take account of the age of children.

They will also have to put extra effort into suppressing the spread of harmful content, such as “violent, hateful or abusive material, online bullying, and content promoting dangerous challenges”.

More seriously harmful content, including that relating to suicide, self-harm and eating disorders, will need to be kept off children’s feeds entirely, as will pornography.

Enforcing the new requirements will pose a challenge. Algorithmic curation is often described as a “black box”, with some companies unsure how their own systems decide what content to promote and suppress. But Ofcom is confident that its enforcement will be effective, says Gill Whitehead, the regulator’s Online Safety lead.

“We’ve spoken to 15,000 children in the last two years in the run up to today, and they tell us the types of harmful content they’re seeing, how it appears, and how often they’re seeing it. And we also have very strong information-gathering powers, in order to request that data and require tech firms to provide that data to us.

“The big change is that the very harmful content that [children] are seeing needs to be filtered out so that they’re not seeing it. And then harmful content, like violent or harmful substances, or dangerous challenges or stunts needs to be down ranked, so they’re seeing it far less often. So those sort of powerful combinations of volume and intensity won’t be as prolific or damaging for children as it is today.”

The draft code is open for consultation until 17 July, before it is finalised and presented to parliament, with services given three months to conduct their own children’s risk assessments, which must be completed before enforcement begins.

The Ofcom chief executive, Dame Melanie Dawes, said: “We want children to enjoy life online. But, for too long, their experiences have been blighted by seriously harmful content which they can’t avoid or control. Many parents share feelings of frustration and worry about how to keep their children safe. That must change.

“In line with new online safety laws, our proposed codes firmly place the responsibility for keeping children safer on tech firms. They will need to tame aggressive algorithms that push harmful content to children in their personalised feeds and introduce age checks so children get an experience that’s right for their age.

“Our measures, which go way beyond current industry standards, will deliver a step-change in online safety for children in the UK. Once they are in force we won’t hesitate to use our full range of enforcement powers to hold platforms to account. That’s a promise we make to children and parents today.”

UK technology secretary Michelle Donelan said: “The government assigned Ofcom to deliver the act and today the regulator has been clear; platforms must introduce the kinds of age-checks young people experience in the real world and address algorithms which too readily mean they come across harmful material online.

“Once in place, these measures will bring in a fundamental change in how children in the UK experience the online world.”

The child online safety campaigner Ian Russell, the father of 14-year-old Molly Russell who took her own life in November 2017 after viewing harmful material on social media, said more still needed to be done to protect young people from online harm.

In his role as chair of online safety charity the Molly Rose Foundation, Russell said: “Ofcom’s task was to seize the moment and propose bold and decisive measures that can protect children from widespread but inherently preventable harm.

“The regulator has proposed some important and welcome measures, but its overall set of proposals need to be more ambitious to prevent children encountering harmful content that cost Molly’s life.”

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