Impact of Social Media on Adolescent Girls’ Development

Question: What does the clinical data tell us about the effect of social media on the physical development of adolescent girls? The development of the brain? Why? 

Answer: Thank you for this question! There isn’t a lot of research in general on how social media use is related to brain development. This previous portal response describes what we do know. Put simply, the link between social media use and brain development is complex and varies between individuals. 

Focusing on Adolescent Girls 

We were only able to identify one study focused specifically on girls and brain development. This study used a brain scan called fMRI to see what happened in teen girls’ brains when they looked at pictures of bikini models with different body types. The girls also saw feedback from another teen saying whether the model looked “thin” or “normal.” When the girl’s opinion was different from the other teen’s opinion, parts of the brain involved in noticing social conflict and comparing information became more active. This effect was stronger for girls who said they had lower self-esteem. In other words, social media images and peer feedback may affect teens differently depending on how they feel about themselves. 

One important thing to consider in thinking about this study is that the brain was reacting to the content, processing images of girls in bikinis, and not necessarily social media itself. This finding suggests that whether those images were in magazines, on TV, movies or on a reel was not necessarily impacting the brain. However, the content itself and the images were what was producing the brain response.  

Windows of Developmental Sensitivity to Social Media 

There is evidence to suggest that adolescents may have specific periods of their development that make them more sensitive to certain effects of social media. One study followed more than 17,000 teens from the United Kingdom from age 10 to 21. The researchers found that spending more time on social media was strongly connected to lower life satisfaction for girls between the ages of 11 and 13. For boys, this connection was strongest between ages 14 and 15. One explanation for this finding is that girls begin puberty earlier than boys, so developmental changes that occur during puberty may affect how adolescents experience social media. 

Impact on Healthy Behaviors 

Social media use might indirectly impact healthy development through effects on important health behaviors. One example is the potential for social media use to get in the way of sleep or to impact sleep quality, which is explained in this previous portal response.  

In Summary 

Research on social media and adolescent girls’ development is still limited, but current evidence suggests that social media may affect teens differently depending on their age/stage of development, self-esteem, and impact on health habits like sleep. Research also supports the important role that content plays, whether that content is in magazines, on TV or movies, or on social media. Rather than focusing only on screen time, it may be more helpful to pay attention to how social media content makes teens feel, and whether it gets in the way of sleep, physical activity or other healthy behaviors.  

What You Can Do 

Consider these tips to promote balanced social media use and healthy development: 

• Consider using the Family Media Plan to build healthy family habits that support sleep, physical activity, and other health behaviors. 
• Try adjusting nighttime notification settings and turning on night mode in social media apps. The Glossary of Digital Media Platforms includes instructions about how to adjust these settings in different apps. 
• To learn more about how to prioritize healthy behaviors like sleep and physical activity to promote healthy development, consider reading or viewing this video about the “Crowding Out” C of the 5 Cs of Media Use.  

For more resources designed specifically for teens, check out our Teen Wellness Toolkit which includes quick tips for managing the content on your social media feed, a Calm Toolbox, and what the research says about the good and bad of social media. 

References 

• Orben, A., Przybylski, A. K., Blakemore, S. J., & Kievit, R. A. (2022). Windows of developmental sensitivity to social media. Nature communications, 13(1), 1649.  
• van der Meulen, M., Veldhuis, J., Braams, B. R., Peters, S., Konijn, E. A., & Crone, E. A. (2017). Brain activation upon ideal-body media exposure and peer feedback in late adolescent girls. Cognitive, affective, & behavioral neuroscience, 17(4), 712-723.  

Age: 10-18 

Topics: Social Media, Brain, Development 

Role: Adolescent/Youth