Researchers have concluded that social media play a major role in anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts. TikTok and Instagram are particularly popular among adolescents and are thought to endanger them.1,2

The evidence of harm is largely correlational, finding that more time spent on social media corresponds to greater psychological problems, for instance. Such correlations do not establish a causal connection between social media and psychological problems. However, experiments where teens were randomly assigned to use social media or do something else supported a causal relationship.1

When adolescents join these platforms, their psychological problems increase, and when they take a holiday from social media, their mental well-being improves. The more time they devote to social media, the more anxious and lonelier they are. Researchers suggest children under 14 years should not have accounts.

One reason that teens love these platforms is that most of their friends use them. Why? Evidently, the content hits them where they live. Instagram is heavily focused on personal appearance whether it is the selfies of an influencer who has done a lot of work on their hair and makeup, the self-portrait of........

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