BRUSSELS: A recent Belgian study has found that there is currently insufficient scientific evidence to conclusively link social media use with negative impacts on adolescent mental health. Conducted jointly by Ghent University and the University of Antwerp, the research challenges widespread assumptions and was reported by national broadcaster VRT NWS on Wednesday.
Professor Ernst Koster, lead researcher and clinical psychologist at Ghent University, stated, “Just as many studies report negative, positive, or no effects at all.” His team analysed around 40 contemporary studies focused on adolescents’ use of social media, revealing inconsistent findings that do not support a clear cause-and-effect relationship.
The study pointed out that many existing analyses are short-term, often conducted over just a few days or a week, making it difficult to assess long-term mental health impacts. “There’s also a tendency to assume a purely negative impact,” said Koster, “when the actual effect is often minimal or entirely absent.”
Another issue identified by the team is the ambiguity in how ‘social media use’ is defined. Koster explained that factors such as specific platforms, usage patterns, and content types are frequently unclear or inconsistently measured.
Despite concerns raised in popular discourse, the researchers concluded that there is no credible evidence to support the claim that social media is the primary cause of mental health issues in teens. “That does not mean individual negative experiences don’t exist,” Koster added, noting that vulnerable users might be affected by certain types of content.
In a controlled experiment, the researchers restricted social media usage for one group of adolescents over a month, while allowing another group to continue usage as normal. They found no significant difference in the mental wellbeing between the two.
The study, conducted in collaboration with the University of Antwerp, has been published in the prestigious journal Nature.
