Does Social Media Impact Adolescent Mental Health?

NCT ID: NCT06049888

Last Updated: 2025-06-17

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 500 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2024-09-29
• Study Completion Date: 2028-02-29

Brief Summary

The mental health of adolescents in the United States has seen a steep decline since 2011, roughly coinciding with the increasing popularity of social media and smartphones. But does social media have a causal impact on the mental health of adolescents or are concerns about the effect of social media on kids a form of public hysteria? In this study, the investigators will conduct the first field experiment in 11-14-year-olds to examine whether, how, and for whom social media harms mental health.

Conditions

Mental Health

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Primary Study Purpose: BASIC_SCIENCE
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Naturalistic Social Media

In this control condition, participants will have no study-imposed restrictions on social media use.

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Restricted Social Media

Participants will have social media apps on their phones blocked for three months.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Restricted Social Media

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Participants (N = 500) will be randomly assigned to either have no study-imposed restrictions on social media use (naturalistic social media condition) or have no access to social media apps on their phones (restricted social media condition). This manipulation will last three months, after which both groups will have no study-imposed restrictions on social media for three more months.

Interventions

Restricted Social Media

Participants (N = 500) will be randomly assigned to either have no study-imposed restrictions on social media use (naturalistic social media condition) or have no access to social media apps on their phones (restricted social media condition). This manipulation will last three months, after which both groups will have no study-imposed restrictions on social media for three more months.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

1. is an adolescent who is between the ages of 10 and 14;

2. is an adolescent whose parents have decided to buy them their first smartphone;

3. is an adolescent both of whose parents/guardians consent for them to be in the study;

4. is an adolescent who assents to be in the study; 5) is an adolescent who speaks and reads English sufficiently to complete surveys and provide informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria

1. is an adolescent who has severe developmental problems (e.g., autism, severe language delay);

2. is an adolescent who is currently or has ever been diagnosed with severe or moderately severe mental illness;

3. is an adolescent who is currently or has ever experienced suicidal ideation.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 10 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 14 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

NIH

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Georgetown University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Locations

Georgetown University

Washington D.C., District of Columbia, United States

Site Status: RECRUITING

Countries

United States

Central Contacts

Kostadin Kushlev, PhD

Role: CONTACT

kk1199@georgetown.edu

804-585-4385

Facility Contacts

Kostadin Kushlev, PhD

Role: primary

kk1199@georgetown.edu

Other Identifiers

1R01MH135467

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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