Surgeon General Warns Social Media Use Over 3 Hours Daily Doubles Teen Depression Risk

U.S. Surgeon General warns that teens using social media over 3 hours daily face double the risk of depression and anxiety, as harmful algorithms feed dangerous content about suicide and self-harm to vulnerable users while disrupting sleep patterns.

• The U.S. Surgeon General and American Psychological Association have issued advisories warning about social media's potential harm to teen mental health, with research showing teens using social media over 3 hours daily face twice the risk of depression and anxiety
• Social media algorithms can feed harmful content about suicide, self-harm, and eating disorders to vulnerable teens, while excessive use disrupts sleep and triggers addiction-like pathways in the developing brain
• Yale experts recommend parents establish family social media plans, keep devices out of bedrooms, maintain open communication without monitoring content, and model healthy screen time behaviors themselves