Overview
- Drawing on the SCAMP cohort of more than 2,300 London pupils, the study found that using social media over three hours a day at ages 11–12 predicted higher depression and anxiety symptoms by ages 13–15.
- The analysis identified evening use, later bedtimes, and too little sleep on school nights as the main pathway connecting heavy use to later mental health problems.
- Girls showed a stronger association between high use and subsequent symptoms than boys.
- The investigators said the link is associative rather than proof of direct causation and called for further research as platforms and online behaviors evolve.
- Policy interest has grown around age limits and school phone rules, yet lead researchers cautioned that current evidence does not justify blanket bans, even as industry data show older teens reporting poorer digital wellbeing.