P0163 - Frequency of social media use and its impact on adolescent mental well-being at an urban high school

Social media (SM) and smartphones are a large part of most teens’ lives and social media platforms have expanded significantly over the past decade. The majority of teens have a smartphone or access to one and many are often online. As the use of social media increases, concerns arise regarding the negative impact of mental well-being on adolescents.

The purpose of this study is to determine the frequency teens use SM and to identify any markers of problem use in a group of adolescents in a local high school with a substantial African American (AA) and Hispanic population, 44% and 52% respectively.

Methods: From March 27-28, 2019, a convenience sample survey was conducted at the high school health fair.

Results: 228 surveys were completed. Almost all students (97%) had personal cell phones and used it for mostly for social media. Over 50% of students post or receive more than 20 posts per day, and 23% post/receive more than 50 per day. Over 50% of students use the phone 6 or more hours per day for social media/video and gaming sites with 13% with over 11 hours per day. 41% stated they received negative, insulting or upsetting messages. 76% use the phone for SM in class, and 82% use after 11 PM. 67% of students feel that they use the phone for SM too much. 58% of female students and 38% of male students report that it is hard to cut down on use. 53% of female students and 62% of male students report that social media is harmful to mental well-being. (see figure 1,2)

Conclusions: The survey demonstrated that nearly all surveyed teens have access to social media/video and gaming sites via personal cell phones. This is consistent with national survey data. 50% of teens averaged over 6hrs per day or more for SM with some over 11hrs. This is increased compared to recent 2018 data, highlighting the large use time of SM in teens. Over 40% of students’ report receiving some kind of negative messages, consistent with previous research. Over 65% of students felt they used their phone too much and almost half found it hard to cut down. More female students than males viewed their use as problematic. Further research needs to be done to further characterize the effects of adolescent SM use and misuse on mental health and to find better treatment modalities to help teens control their own SM use. To the best of our knowledge, no studies have been conducted regarding SM use and mental health within AA and Hispanic adolescent populations.