Beyond the Hype: What Research Tells Us About Social Media’s Role in Youth Mental Health

This event was created in partnership with the State of California’s Department of Healthcare Services.

As concern for the mental well-being of children and teens continues to grow, many are bringing attention to the constant presence of social media in young people’s lives. The U.S. Surgeon General recently called for warning labels on social media platforms — and state and federal policymakers have been drafting legislation aimed at restricting children’s access to social media. But the reality is, there’s still a lot we don’t know about the relationship between technology and youth mental health.

In this session of our Technology & Youth Mental Health Series, we will explore what the existing science has uncovered about the role of social media in youth mental health — and what remains to be studied. We aim to investigate the ways social media is both helpful and harmful to mental health, and highlight the key questions that researchers, clinicians, and parents need to be asking.

The Child Mind Institute’s Technology & Youth Mental Health Series has convened a panel of experienced researchers, advocates, and tech thinkers to explore the interplay between technology, youth mental health, and public policy with the goal of identifying challenges in advancing ecological research and scoping out possible solutions. All events are open to the public. All lectures will be hosted virtually over Zoom.

View the Full Series