President of the World Jewish Congress (WJC), Ronald S. Lauder in Meeting with the Pope Photo: Vatican Media

How Parenting and Self-control Mediate the Link Between Social Media Use and Youth Mental Health

Teens who spend more than 5 hours a day on social media were 60% more likely to express suicidal thoughts or harm themselves, 2.8 times more likely to hold a negative view of their body, and 30% more likely to report a lot of sadness the day before. In this study, these mental health problems were only associated with YouTube and TikTok. Body image problems show significant effects associated with time spent on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and WhatsApp, but not the other platforms studied here.