If you don’t already have a smartphone, it’s only a matter of time before you get one. In fact, I bet a lot of you are watching this video on a smart device. As of 2019, over 2.7 billion people had a smartphone. This is over half of all cellphone users. In the last year alone, 100 million people started using these mobile Internet devices.

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These phones are so popular because they make it easy to access social media platforms. Using social networks has increased significantly since the release of smartphones in 2007. By 2017, 69% of adults were using social media compared to just 5% of Americans in 2005.

While these platforms make it easier to connect with people around the world, they also have detrimental effects. As social media and smartphone use has increased, so have mental health conditions. Correlation doesn’t always mean causation. But researchers suggest that the rise in mental illness is related to the growing use of social media among young people.

By 2015, 92% of teens and young adults owned a smartphone. As this increased, so did feelings of depression. Eight-graders who spend over 10 hours on social media per week are 56% more likely to report being unhappy. Spending only 3 hours on these platforms per day puts adolescents at a higher risk of mental health problems. 13% of 12 to 17 year olds report depression and 32% report anxiety.

A study of 8th to 12th graders found that high levels of depressive symptoms increased by 33% between 2010 and 2015. And the suicide rate for girls in that age group increased by 65%.

Unfortunately, this has only gotten worse. By 2018, child suicide rates increased by up to 150%. Self-harm by girls ages 10 to 14 nearly tripled. These patterns point to the use of social media. One reason that could contribute to these mental health issues is cyberbullying. 59% of US teens have experienced cyberbullying or online harassment. 90% say they think this harassment is a problem that affects people their age, and 63% say that it’s a “major” problem.

Almost 25% of teens say that social media has mostly a negative impact, yet they still continue to use it. This is because of its addictive nature. People talk about themselves around 30 to 40% of the time in person. But on social channels, they talk about themselves 80% of the time. When they receive a notification of positive feedback, they experience a positive sensation from dopamine.

Receiving positive feedback stimulates the brain to release this chemical. This rewards the behavior associated with social media and continues the habit of using it.

Dopamine’s motivational properties play a role in addiction. In 2012, Internet Addiction Disorder rates ranged from 1.5 to 8.2%. Now, between 5 and 10% meet the criteria for this addiction. People struggle to put down their phones so much that they experience depressive and anxiety symptoms if they do. 94% of a study’s participants said they felt troubled if they didn’t have their phone.

80% felt jealous when someone else had their phone, and 70% expected to feel depressed, panicked, and helpless if their phone went missing. This makes it difficult to break the habit, since both using it or not using it causes negative mental health effects.

Even though smartphones and social media can make connections easier, they can still have negative effects. Adolescents grew up using these platforms, and even though they recognize that there are negative impacts, they can’t stop.

The dopamine we experience when we check notifications can cause addiction which worsens our mental health if we don’t have our devices. Unfortunately, that’s not the only problem for young people. Rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicide have all grown as the use of social media and smartphones increased.

Because of these effects, researchers recommend limiting the daily use of social channels. Reducing use to just 30 minutes per day results in significantly lower levels of anxiety, depression, loneliness, sleep problems, and fear of missing out.

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