In 2023, the US Surgeon General released a report titled Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation¹ which stressed the importance of relationships and engagement with others as a key pillar to our health. Social media was prominently featured in the 82 page report, citing a variety of studies that point to its negative effects on mental health.

The Harvard Study of Adult Development, one of the longest research studies to date, has found that the greatest predictor of good health at an old age is high quality relationships and being socially connected². Another study linked high social media use (greater than 2 hours daily) with a near doubling of the risk of perceived social isolation³.

Finally, a McKinsey report on social media and Gen Z⁴ highlights that although there are some positive outcomes to engaging with social media, a couple of things stand out about our youngest generation:

• 27% of respondents think social media has a negative impact on their mental health (compared to 32% think it has a positive impact, the rest are neutral)
• For those who spend greater than two hours on social media – 31% think it has a negative impact on their mental health (compared to 24% who spend less than two hours)

The data above suggest that as many as 1/3 of our children will be negatively impacted by social media. Unfortunately, we have no way to identify which of our children is at risk.