Social media’s enduring effect on adolescent life satisfaction

In this study, we used large-scale representative panel data to disentangle the between-person and within-person relations linking adolescent social media use and well-being. We found that social media use is not, in and of itself, a strong predictor of life satisfaction across the adolescent population. Instead, social media effects are nuanced, small at best, reciprocal over time, gender specific, and contingent on analytic methods.

• VF
  Volkswagen Foundation
• EA
  Economic and Social Research Council

  Award: ES/K005146/1