Does Social Media Impact Adolescent Mental Health?

July 6, 2026 updated by: Georgetown University

Causal Effects of Exposure to Social Media on Adolescent Mental Health

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.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
500

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • District of Columbia
      • Washington D.C., District of Columbia, United States, 20057

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

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.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Basic Science
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
No Intervention: Naturalistic Social Media
In this control condition, participants will have no study-imposed restrictions on social media use.
Experimental: Restricted Social Media
Participants will have social media apps on their phones blocked for three months.
Behavioral: Restricted 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.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS-25): Total Score
Time Frame: Baseline, three months, and six months
The average score varies between 0 and 4, with higher scores indicating a worse outcome.
Baseline, three months, and six months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS-25): Depression Subscale
Time Frame: Baseline, three months, and six months
The average score varies between 0 and 4, with higher scores indicating a worse outcome.
Baseline, three months, and six months
Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS-25): Anxiety Subscale
Time Frame: Baseline, three months, and six months
The average score varies between 0 and 4, with higher scores indicating a worse outcome.
Baseline, three months, and six months

Other Outcome Measures

Other Outcome Measures

For clinical trials, a planned measurement described in the protocol that is used to determine the effect of an intervention/treatment on participants. For observational studies, a measurement or observation that is used to describe patterns of diseases or traits, or associations with exposures, risk factors, or treatment. Types of outcome measures include primary outcome measure and secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
DSM-5 Self-Rated Level 1 Cross-Cutting Symptom Measure Youth Self Report
Time Frame: Baseline, three months, and six months
The average score varies between 0 and 4, with higher scores indicating a worse outcome.
Baseline, three months, and six months
DSM-5 Self-Rated Level 1 Cross-Cutting Symptom Measure Parent Report
Time Frame: Baseline, three months, and six months
The average score varies between 0 and 4, with higher scores indicating a worse outcome.
Baseline, three months, and six months
Upward Social Comparison (EMA)
Time Frame: Every three days throughout the study with two averages computed for 0 to 3 months and 3 to 6 months.
Mediator measured with a single, face-valid item in EMA surveys: "Over the past 24 hours, how often have you compared yourself to someone who you believe is better off than you?"
Every three days throughout the study with two averages computed for 0 to 3 months and 3 to 6 months.
Offline Social Capital: Quantity of In-Person Social Interactions (EMA)
Time Frame: Every three days throughout the study with two averages computed for 0 to 3 months and 3 to 6 months.
Mediator measured with a single, face-valid item in EMA surveys: "Over past 24 hours, how much time did you spend socializing in person?"
Every three days throughout the study with two averages computed for 0 to 3 months and 3 to 6 months.
Offline Social Capital: Quality of In-Person Social Interactions (EMA)
Time Frame: Every three days throughout the study with two averages computed for 0 to 3 months and 3 to 6 months.
Mediator measured with a single, face-valid item in EMA surveys: "Over past 24 hours, how much did you enjoy your in-person social interactions with others?"
Every three days throughout the study with two averages computed for 0 to 3 months and 3 to 6 months.
Quantity of Online Social Interactions (Mobile Sensing)
Time Frame: Daily throughout the study with two averages computed for 0 to 3 months and 3 to 6 months.
Mediator: Quantity of digital social interactions based on the total number of words participants type on their phone keyboards each day.
Daily throughout the study with two averages computed for 0 to 3 months and 3 to 6 months.
Valence of Online Social Interactions (Mobile Sensing)
Time Frame: Daily throughout the study with two averages computed for 0 to 3 months and 3 to 6 months.
Mediator: Quality/valence of digital social interactions by measuring the balance between positive and negative words participants type on their phone keyboards. The valence of the words typed will first be scored using the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) software. The sum of the valence scores of all words will produce the final score for analysis.
Daily throughout the study with two averages computed for 0 to 3 months and 3 to 6 months.
Active (vs Passive) Social Media Use (Mobile Sensing)
Time Frame: Daily throughout the study with two averages computed for 0 to 3 months and 3 to 6 months.
Active usage includes creating content and direct messaging, while passive usage includes browsing, scrolling, or watching videos. Using data from the Inertial Measurement Unit (i.e., accelerometer and gyroscope data) and keyboard input (i.e. typing or not), an Extremely Randomized Trees algorithm will classify behaviors into active or passive.
Daily throughout the study with two averages computed for 0 to 3 months and 3 to 6 months.
Passive (vs Active) Social Media Use (Mobile Sensing)
Time Frame: Daily throughout the study with two averages computed for 0 to 3 months and 3 to 6 months.
Active usage includes creating content and direct messaging, while passive usage includes browsing, scrolling, or watching videos. Using data from the Inertial Measurement Unit (i.e., accelerometer and gyroscope data) and keyboard input (i.e. typing or not), an Extremely Randomized Trees algorithm will classify behaviors into active or passive.
Daily throughout the study with two averages computed for 0 to 3 months and 3 to 6 months.
Time Spent in Specific Social Media Apps (Mobile Sensing)
Time Frame: Daily throughout the study with two averages computed for 0 to 3 months and 3 to 6 months.
Time participants spend in specific social media apps as assessed unobtrusively by mobile sensing.
Daily throughout the study with two averages computed for 0 to 3 months and 3 to 6 months.
Parent-child conflict
Time Frame: Every three days for a total of 60 days (EMA)
Mediator measured with a single, face-valid item in EMA surveys and answered by the parent: "Over past 24 hours, my child and I did not get along. (1-not at all to 10-very much)"
Every three days for a total of 60 days (EMA)
Linguistic Indicators of Depression (Mobile Sensing)
Time Frame: Every day for a total of 180 days
Present temporal focus (i.e., using the present tense) and self-focus (i.e., using first-person pronouns) based on the language participants use while typing on their phones.
Every day for a total of 180 days
ADHD Inattention Symptoms
Time Frame: Baseline
Moderator variable: Vanderbilt ADHD Diagnostic Parent Rating Scale completed by parents as a measure of symptoms of adolescents' ADHD at baseline. For exploratory purposes, we will administer the Vanderbilt ADHD Diagnostic Parent Rating Scale at the two follow-up assessments, as well.
Baseline
Sustained Attention
Time Frame: Baseline
Moderator: Sustained attention/inhibitory control as assessed by Gradual Onset Continuous Performance Task (gradCPT), which is a go/no-go continuous performance task validated in adolescents in the target age range. The primary moderator of interest is accuracy (d') based on signal detection. For exploratory purposes, we will administer the gradCPT at the two follow-up assessments, as well.
Baseline
Motives for Using Social Media
Time Frame: Baseline, three months, and six months
Moderator: Scale of Motives for Using Social Networking Sites (SMU-SNS), designed to assess different motivations for using social media specifically in adolescents (e.g., Social Connectedness, Social Recognition, Following Others).
Baseline, three months, and six months
Loneliness
Time Frame: Baseline, three months, and six months
Exploratory measure: UCLA Loneliness Scale
Baseline, three months, and six months
Parenting Style
Time Frame: Baseline
Moderator: Authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive parenting styles as assessed by the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire.
Baseline
Sleep
Time Frame: Every day for a total of 180 days
Mediator as assessed by mobile sensing data (acceleromer, GPS)
Every day for a total of 180 days
Physical activity
Time Frame: Every day for a total of 180 days
Mediator as assessed by mobile sensing data (accelerometer, GPS)
Every day for a total of 180 days
Parent-Imposed Restrictions on Social Media Use
Time Frame: Baseline, three months, and six months
A study-specific, face-valid measure assessing restrictions that parents have imposed on the adolescents' social media use overall and on their use of specific social media platforms.
Baseline, three months, and six months
Parent and Child Demographics
Time Frame: Baseline
Age, sex at birth, self-identified gender, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status and other demographics as assessed by the ABCD Parent Demographics Survey (NDA code: pdem02) and Child Demographics Survey (NDA code: child_dem01)
Baseline
Current and Past Mental Health Diagnoses
Time Frame: Eligibility Survey, Baseline, Three months, and six months
Parent-reported and self-reported current and past psychiatric diagnoses and developmental problems, including their severity as assessed by a modified version of the Psychiatric Diagnoses Form (NDA code: psydif01).
Eligibility Survey, Baseline, Three months, and six months
Current and Past Suicidal Ideation
Time Frame: Eligibility Survey, Baseline, Three months, and six months
Current and past suicidal ideation assessed as follows: Over the last two weeks, how often have you been bothered by thoughts that you would be better off dead or of hurting yourself in some way?" and "Have you ever been bothered by thoughts that you would be better off dead or of hurting yourself in some way?"
Eligibility Survey, Baseline, Three months, and six months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Georgetown University

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
September 29, 2024

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
March 2, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
June 1, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
August 23, 2023

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 16, 2023

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
September 22, 2023

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
July 8, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
July 6, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 1R01MH135467 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

Demographic, clinical (self-reports and parent reports), neurocognitive (gradCPT), and passive mobile sensing data (accelerometer, GPS, keyboard input, app usage) will be collected and made available on NIMH Data Archive (NDA). All data will be de-identified prior to deposition to NDA. To request access to the data, researchers will use the standard processes at NDA, and the NDA Data Access Committee will decide which requests to grant. All code for the analyses-including statistical analysis, data transformations, and data cleaning-will be shared on the Open Science Framework (OSF). The code can be found by searching for "Kostadin Kushlev" on the Open Science Framework.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

All data will be deposited to NDA starting 12 months after the award begins and will be deposited every six months thereafter following the usual NDA data submission dates.

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

To request access to the data, researchers will use the standard processes at NDA, and the NDA Data Access Committee will decide which requests to grant. The standard NDA data access process allows access for one year and is renewable. The protocol and code will be available on OSF to anybody with access to the internet. De-identified data associated with each publication will also be made available on OSF by the publication date of each paper.

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP
  • ICF
  • ANALYTIC_CODE

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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