Does Social Media Impact Adolescent Mental Health?

Causal Effects of Exposure to Social Media on Adolescent Mental Health

Status

Recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT06049888

Enrollment

500

Registered

2023-09-22

Start date

2024-09-29

Completion date

2028-06-01

Last updated

2026-07-08

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Mental Health

Keywords

social media, mental health, depression, anxiety

Brief summary

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

Interventions

BEHAVIORALRestricted Social Media

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

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

CROSSOVER

Primary purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

10 Years to 14 Years

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

1. is an adolescent who is between the ages of 10 and 14; 2. is an adolescent whose parents have decided to buy them their first smartphone; 3. is an adolescent both of whose parents/guardians consent for them to be in the study; 4. is an adolescent who assents to be in the study; 5) is an adolescent who speaks and reads English sufficiently to complete surveys and provide informed consent.

Exclusion criteria

1. is an adolescent who has severe developmental problems (e.g., autism, severe language delay); 2. is an adolescent who is currently or has ever been diagnosed with severe or moderately severe mental illness; 3. is an adolescent who is currently or has ever experienced suicidal ideation.

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS-25): Total Score	Baseline, three months, and six months	The average score varies between 0 and 4, with higher scores indicating a worse outcome.

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS-25): Depression Subscale	Baseline, three months, and six months	The average score varies between 0 and 4, with higher scores indicating a worse outcome.
Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS-25): Anxiety Subscale	Baseline, three months, and six months	The average score varies between 0 and 4, with higher scores indicating a worse outcome.

Countries

United States

Contacts

CONTACTKostadin Kushlev, PhD

kk1199@georgetown.edu804-585-4385

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Jul 9, 2026