Social media may heighten depression severity in youth
UTSW study finds many young people with mental health issues report problematic social media habits and more severe symptoms
DALLAS – March 24, 2025 – An emotional overattachment to social media may be associated with increased severity of mental health symptoms among young people being treated for depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts, according to researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center.
The study, published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, found that 40% of depressed and suicidal youth reported problematic social media use, defined as being upset or having feelings of discontent or disappointment when not using social media. These youth also reported higher rates of screen time and expressed more and higher depressive symptoms, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts, along with poorer overall well-being.
“There has long been speculation that excessive social media use among young people may be a factor in increased rates of suicidal thoughts and behaviors, but the relationship is not fully understood,” said study leader Betsy Kennard, Psy.D., Distinguished Teaching Professor of Psychiatry and member of the Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute at UT Southwestern. “While there have been multiple studies investigating social media use and mental health symptoms, few focused on clinical populations. Our findings are instructive because they characterize the prevalence of problematic social media use in children and adolescents who are receiving care for depression, suicidal ideation, and/or suicidal behaviors, which gives us insight into how they might intersect.”
Dr. Kennard and her colleagues reviewed data from a social media questionnaire completed by 489 patients in the Texas Youth Depression and Suicide Research Registry, comprising patients ages 8 to 20 who are receiving care for depression, suicidal ideation, and/or suicidal behaviors at 12 academic medical centers across the state including UT Southwestern and Children’s Health. Prevalence of problematic social media use was identified, and indicators of mental and physical health were compared in those with or without problematic use.
“The appropriate amount of social media activity isn’t a ‘one-size-fits-all’ issue, so what is fine for one individual may not be OK for someone else,” Dr. Kennard said. “But what we often see is that the characteristics of problematic use mirror those of addiction, with continued use even when wanting to stop, cravings, interference with daily tasks and activities, deceptive use, interpersonal disruptions, and more. Our hope is that we can use these findings, and data from future studies, to develop better screening methods to address problematic use earlier.”
Dr. Kennard and her colleagues at UT Southwestern are also working to develop and test interventional tools that can help young people reduce their dependence on social media. For example, a family social media plan – in which family members discuss usage limits and agree to specific guidelines – might help young people better manage their screen time before it creates mental health impacts. UTSW researchers also plan to continue studying problematic social media use and its influence on adolescent mental health.
Other UTSW researchers who contributed to this study are senior author Madhukar Trivedi, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry and Public Health; Abu Minhajuddin, Ph.D., Professor of Public Health and Psychiatry; Manish Jha, M.D., Associate Professor of Psychiatry; and Shamari Pitts, B.S., and Sophia Jones, B.S., Clinical Research Assistants in Psychiatry.
Dr. Kennard is a licensed psychologist and has more than 30 years of clinical experience with children and adolescents. She is also Director of the Suicide Prevention and Resilience Program at Children’s Health.
Drs. Trivedi and Jha are Investigators in the O’Donnell Brain Institute.
This study was funded by the Texas Youth Depression and Suicide Research Network.
About UT Southwestern Medical Center  
UT Southwestern, one of the nation’s premier academic medical centers, integrates pioneering biomedical research with exceptional clinical care and education. The institution’s faculty members have received six Nobel Prizes and include 25 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 23 members of the National Academy of Medicine, and 14 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators. The full-time faculty of more than 3,200 is responsible for groundbreaking medical advances and is committed to translating science-driven research quickly to new clinical treatments. UT Southwestern physicians provide care in more than 80 specialties to more than 120,000 hospitalized patients, more than 360,000 emergency room cases, and oversee nearly 5 million outpatient visits a year.