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Dislike Button: Swiping Left on Excessive Social Media, Screen Time, and Teen Depression

June 13, 2025

Article at a Glance

Statistics and trends show a link between excessive screen time and mental health
Why teenage girls are especially vulnerable
The correlation between the release of the iPhone 4 in 2010 and increased mental health issues
How accessibility and 24/7 connectivity contribute to anxiety and depression in teens
The effect of constant notifications and online social interactions

Teen anxiety and depression are skyrocketing—and the time spent on smartphones and social media appears to be igniting the fuse.

While social media and constant connectivity promise entertainment and connection, they also come with a hidden cost. While these tools offer connection and entertainment, they have also fueled a mental health crisis, particularly among teenagers. Teens spending the most time on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok report considerably higher rates of depression symptoms by as much as 66 percent when compared to those with lower usage.

Pediatricians in Utah County are among those witnessing the dramatic surge in depression and anxiety in young patients.

“When I first started, I would treat or discuss anxiety and depression in a teen patient about once or twice a week,” says Dr. Michael Fullmer of Utah Valley Pediatrics. “Now, I am discussing it and managing it about once or twice a day.”

To raise awareness about this growing issue, Utah Valley Pediatrics is shining a light on teen depression and its links to social media. This is the first of two articles exploring the connection between social media and teen anxiety, offering insights into its impact and practical steps for parents.

The Scope of the Problem

Statistics and Trends

The link between excessive screen time and deteriorating mental health is hard to ignore. According to Fullmer, “Almost every child that I see for depression, anxiety, ADHD, fatigue, poor school performance, and sleep problems admits to excessive screen time.” This overexposure can disrupt sleep, social interactions, and cognitive development, all of which play key roles in emotional well-being. In the study statistics released by the CDC in October of 2024, the percentage of teens with symptoms of anxiety (27 percent) or depression (26 percent) in the two weeks previous was much higher for those logging four hours or more screen time per day. Those with less than four hours of screen time per day over the same period experienced vastly reduced symptoms of depression (9.5 percent).

Why Girls Are Especially Vulnerable

Social media’s impact is particularly harmful to teenage girls. Platforms that thrive on comparison culture, unrealistic beauty standards, and social validation create an environment where self-esteem erodes quickly. “I think girls have more social skills and more social awareness than boys. Social media accentuates this difference,” says Fullmer. The constant comparison to curated, often unattainable images leads to feelings of inadequacy and contributes to rising rates of self-harm, suicidal thoughts, and severe depression. In his book The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic in Mental Illness, Jonathan Haidt notes the following statistics since the early 2010s:

Emergency room visits for self-harm among 10- to 14-year-old girls have increased 188 percent (48 percent for boys).
In the same age group, suicide rates rose by 167 percent for girls and 91 percent for boys.

Haidt sees a clear correlation between increased mental health issues and the release of the iPhone 4 in June of 2010. The phone not only provided access to social media but also came with the first forward-facing camera and ushered in the age of the ubiquitous selfie. Girls are much more prone to sharing emotions (especially negative ones), are more easily exposed to harassment and predators, exhibit higher rates of perfectionism, and are more self-aware about their bodies—all traits that can exacerbate their experiences on social media platforms. “The thing that concerns me most about depression in teenage girls is the increase in suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts,” says Fullmer. “The rates of self-harm are increasing as well, so by definition, we are dealing with severe depression, not just mild or moderate.”

The Role of Smartphones

Accessibility and Constant Connectivity

Smartphones ensure that social media is available 24/7, making it difficult for teens to disconnect. In many cases, social media is the first thing teens look at in the morning and the last thing they see before going to bed. “Our brain is not capable of handling the huge amount of information available to us,” Fullmer explains. “We need to put our brain on a diet. Boredom is good for our brains. Quiet is good for our brains. Depriving our brain of these good things causes anxiety, stress, depression, and sleep problems.”

Escalation of Anxiety

Notifications and social interactions online have become a new form of social currency. “Getting notifications and texts and likes is the virtual version of walking down the hall at school and people saying hi to you,” Fullmer says. “Since most teens are on their devices more than eight hours a day, this is their social life. It becomes crucial to have notifications, or they become lonely and sad very quickly.” The problem is that this digital validation comes at a cost—constant notifications keep teens in a heightened state of alertness, making it difficult for them to fully relax. Each ping, like, or message triggers a dopamine response, reinforcing the need to stay connected and engaged. Over time, this can lead to increased anxiety, restlessness, and an inability to focus on offline tasks. As a result, many teens feel pressure to be perpetually available, fearing that missing a message or not responding quickly enough could lead to social exclusion or conflict. In our next article, we’ll look at the symptoms of teen depression, what parents can do to break the scroll cycle linking teen anxiety and social media, and broader community and institutional interventions.

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