Listen to an audio version of a recent Nature Feature

Audio long read: Do smartphones and social media really harm teens’ mental health?

Download the 25 April long read podcast

Research shows that, over the past two decades, rates of mental illness have been increasing in adolescents in many countries. While some scientists point to soaring use of smartphones and social media as a key driver for this trend, others say the evidence does not show a large effect of these technologies on teenagers’ psychological health.

At the heart of the dispute is a large, complex and often conflicting body of research that different researchers interpret in different ways. This has left parents unsure what to do.

This is an audio version of our Feature: Do smartphones and social media really harm teens’ mental health?

Never miss an episode. Subscribe to the Nature Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music or your favourite podcast app. An RSS feed for the Nature Podcast is available too.

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-01310-w

This story originally appeared on: Nature - Author:Helen Pearson