Social media 'well down the list' of factors impacting youth mental health, experts say

Experts from the Universities of Limerick and Galway said there was very little evidence social media leads to a decline in wellbeing for young people.

A blanket ban on social media use for under-16s is “overly restrictive” and lets big tech firms off the hook for harm that happens on their platforms, experts have said.

The experts from the Universities of Limerick and Galway said there was very little evidence social media leads to a decline in wellbeing for young people. Social media companies must be held to account and make their data available for researchers, they said.

“We are seeing unprecedented levels of mental health distress in young people in Ireland currently, unfortunately reflective of similar trends internationally,” Dr Ruth Melia, associate professor in clinical psychology at UL, said. "I would be concerned, however, that placing the blame for this increase in distress entirely on the use of social media, distracts from more fundamental societal issues that we know impact youth mental health substantially.

“While placing the blame on one factor is enticing, there is a risk of looking past longstanding and established causes of mental health difficulties that require much more complex and fundamental changes.” 

It comes as ministers have signalled Ireland may follow the example of Australia and ban social media use for under-16s, against the backdrop of the Grok AI "undressing" controversy and action being taken by regulators in Ireland and Europe to try to hold tech giants to account for what is on their platforms.

Tánaiste Simon Harris has said he believes there needs to be a minimum age in relation to social media and children “are not safe on the internet, simple as”.

However, the Government’s new digital and artificial intelligence strategy unveiled on Wednesday stopped short of a commitment to ban under-16s from social media.

Instead, it said Ireland would work with like-minded EU member states to “explore options” to introduce age restrictions on the use of social media. While its preference is for EU-wide action, it added it would take action domestically “if necessary”.

Dr Eoin Whelan, professor in business analytics and society at University of Galway, said: “If the Government’s aim is to enhance the wellbeing and mental health of our youth, then restricting social media for under 16s is not the logical starting point.

“My own research with adolescents in Ireland does find a negative relationship between social media and adolescent wellbeing. However the effect is very weak and not clinically relevant.

"When I compared other factors which impact the wellbeing of teenagers — such as having supportive parents and teachers, feeling safe in their neighbourhood, availability of social activities etc — then social media use ranks well down the list."

Dr Daragh Bradshaw, associate professor in the Department of Psychology at UL, said social media could support peer connection, social inclusion and emotional support — three things that could be of benefit to children during adolescence.

“A blanket ban risks eliminating these benefits instead of addressing harmful online practices,” he said.

“Overall, the ban places responsibility on children and families while neglecting platform accountability. Evidence suggests that education, youth participation, and regulation of platform design are more effective than exclusionary policies.” 

Online safety charity Cybersafekids, meanwhile, said it was concerned a seemingly straightforward social media ban could oversimplify what is “fundamentally a complex problem requiring more nuanced solutions”.

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“It is vital that children's rights are balanced with their fundamental right to protection from harm, ensuring that children — who largely want only to connect with friends and have fun — can do so without the persistent threat of encountering traumatic content, receiving unwanted and harmful contact, or being undressed by so-called AI ‘nudify’ technology that serves no meaningful social purpose,” it said.