EP #14 | How can Social Media Affect Mental Health? | Amy Orben
Mar 28, 2025
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In this discussion, Amy Orben, a leading expert from the University of Cambridge on digital mental health, delves into the impact of social media on teens. She breaks down how constant online engagement affects their mental health, stressing the dual nature of social media as both a risk and a tool for connection. Orben also emphasizes the need for critical evaluation of technology’s role in society and offers parental guidance for managing screen time, encouraging open communication to support healthy development.
The rise of smartphones and social media has transformed human interaction, influencing how adolescents socialize and raising concerns among parents.
Evolving worries about social media's impact encompass feelings of lost personal agency, complicating discussions on mental health interventions.
Addressing social media's effects on mental health requires a balance between immediate interventions and robust foundational research for future strategies.
Deep dives
The Evolution of Human Interaction
Human interaction has drastically changed due to the rise of smartphones and social media, reflecting a shift in how we engage with others. Almost half of teens in the U.S. report being online almost constantly, raising concerns among parents and older generations about the implications for socialization. The episode examines the fears surrounding technology's impact on mental health and cognition, questioning whether these worries are grounded in scientific evidence. Understanding this evolution is crucial in addressing the challenges posed by digital communication.
Concerns About Mental Health and Social Media
Concerns about the negative effects of social media on mental health have evolved alongside technological advancements. Initially, worries centered around the rapid societal changes brought about by new technologies, with fears linking social media to various mental health issues. Currently, many express feelings of loss of control over personal agency in the face of incessant digital engagement, further complicating the discourse on mental health. Identifying these evolving concerns is essential for formulating effective interventions.
Challenges in Understanding Social Media's Impact
The episode articulates the complexity of evaluating the impact of social media on mental health, paralleling historical challenges in understanding smoking's effects. Unlike substances that have clear biological markers, social media’s influence is multifaceted and cannot be easily quantified. Researchers face hurdles due to the inability to access vital data on how individuals engage with these platforms, which limits the clarity of findings. Addressing these methodological issues is vital for generating actionable insights into social media's effects.
Interventions vs. Basic Research
A significant tension exists between the need for immediate interventions and the pursuit of long-term basic research in the context of social media's impact. While interventions can address urgent mental health concerns for young people, a strong foundation of basic research is necessary to inform future applications and policies. The speaker emphasizes that we need a mix of both approaches to comprehensively address mental health challenges related to technology. This dual approach requires strategizing to ensure that immediate solutions do not overlook long-term implications.
The Power of Evidence-based Policy
The episode underscores the importance of evidence-based policymaking in navigating the complexities of social media's role in mental health. Despite the ambiguities surrounding the evidence, actionable insights from qualitative research and intervention studies can lead to effective policies that empower parents and young people. The necessity of fostering open conversations about technology use within families is highlighted as a way to mitigate risks while embracing potential benefits. A cautious but proactive stance is advocated to ensure that technology serves the interest of society, particularly vulnerable populations.
Humans inhabit a social world. With the march of history and the discovery of novel technologies, our ability to socialise has been in a state of constant flux to varying degrees. However, modes of human interaction have undergone a massive shift in the 21st century with the emergence of smartphones and social media platforms. According to a Pew report, almost half of US teens say that they are online ‘almost constantly’. This is understandably terrifying for the previous generation, especially parents of young people, witnessing this shift in sociality. Simultaneously, in the current public discourse, claims about the negative impact of these technologies on mental health and cognition are widespread. But what does the relevant science say? What can it say? Should we really be worried? If so, what precisely should these worries be? Today’s guest is here to answer all these questions, or at least some of them.
Amy Orben is a Programme Leader Track Scientist at the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit (CBU) and a Fellow at St. John's College, University of Cambridge. She leads the Digital Mental Health programme at the MRC CBU. She is a multi-award winning psychologist and a world expert on examining how digitalisation & social media use impact adolescent mental health. Prior to leading the digital mental health programme at Cambridge, she completed an MA in Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge before joining the University of Oxford to obtain her DPhil in Experimental Psychology, for which she was awarded the BPS Award for Outstanding Doctoral Research 2019.
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Behind Their Screens: Carrie James and Emily Weinstein
Credits:
Interview: Tanay Katiyar
Artwork: Ella Bergru
Editing: Jay Richardson
Music: Thelma Samuel and Robin Baradel
Communication: Tanay Katiyar and Marius Mercier
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