Research published in 2022 by Braghieri and colleagues demonstrates a decline in mental health of student populations after the introduction of Facebook, represented in the figure by the vertical dotted line. The different colored bars begin to move upwards after the dotted line, indicating a decline in mental health.

Adolescents and adults of all ages are seeking assistance at emergency departments at an increasing rate for mental health struggles, however the sharpest increases have been in adolescents, according to Genevieve Santillanes and colleagues at USC’s Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics.

Children are less able than adults to perform skills that require impulse control or careful response selection. Executive functioning skills, such as cognitive control and response inhibition, are lower in children than adults.

Percent of people experiencing a Major Depressive Episode (MDE) in the prior 12 months, by age range. MDEs have risen disproportionately in adolescents and younger adults.

Children engage differently with digital devices depending on their age. Parents report that the vast majority of young children engage in “screen time,” including nearly half of 0-2 year olds who interact with a smartphone.

Greater mental well-being is associated with some screen engagement but declines after excessive use for several different modalities shown: a) watching TV and movies; b) playing video games; c) using computers; and d) using smartphones. However, these researchers did not find support that screen time itself was responsible for most of the trends.