When to Start Using Social Media: What Teens Should Know

Question: I’m 14 years old. Should I be allowed to have social media? When is a good age to introduce social media to a teen?

Answer: We’re so glad to see that you’re exploring what the risks and benefits are of being on social media! Social media has become a big part of how teens connect with each other and follow what’s happening in the world. Apps like Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and Facebook can help you stay in touch with friends, family, and your favorite celebrities or creators, and help you explore your hobbies and interests. At the same time, social media use can affect your mood, sleep, and self-confidence in ways that aren’t always obvious at first. 

When it comes to being ready for social media, there isn’t one specific age that automatically means someone is ready. A lot of different factors play a role in deciding whether a teen is prepared to use social media responsibly.  

Risks of Starting Social Media Under Age 13 

It’s great that you’ve waited until at least age 14 to start using social media. Research shows that, in general, kids who start using social media before age 13 tend to have worse outcomes later on. This can include things like lower self-esteem, trouble sleeping, or feelings of depression. Specifically, the research shows:  

• A 2022 survey found that children who started using social media at age 10 or younger were more likely to be victims of online harassment and were more likely to have online friends or social media accounts that their parents would disapprove of. They were also more likely to display unsympathetic behaviors online, such as sharing discriminating or fake content, making passive-aggressive comments, or engaging in cyberbullying. 
• For kids aged 10-14 years old who were already struggling with body image, using social media at an early age often made those feelings worse. 
• Kids who started social media earlier noticed more impacts on their sleep, like later bedtimes and fewer hours of sleep on school nights. 
• Spending more time on social media at a younger age (9-11) can lead to greater symptoms of depression over time versus starting social media a few years later. 

Is there an amount of social media use that is best? 

Based on the research evidence, if you choose to use social media, less is better than more, but that doesn’t mean you have to completely cut it out of your life.  

One recent study with over 100,000 Australian students found that adolescents who use social media moderately – meaning less than 12.5 hours/week (or less than 1-1.5 hours/day) – experience the highest level of well-being, while adolescents who use social media at a high level (more than 12.5 hours/week) were more likely to have worse well-being. Teens who did not use social media at all also had worse well-being, but not as bad as the heavy social media users.  

Another 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. These findings suggest that during certain stressful stages of life for both boys and girls, social media can make those feelings of stress stronger.  

Our takeaway from these studies is that at age 14, you may be ready for social media, but you might also have negative experiences. You are still developing important skills, like learning how to manage strong emotions, deal with peer pressure, and think critically about what you see online. Social media can expose you to constant comparison with your peers or with people you don’t know, cyberbullying, misleading information, and inappropriate or toxic content.  

So what does this mean for you? 

Instead of asking “Am I old enough?” it can be helpful to instead think about, “Am I prepared for social media?” You can ask yourself questions like: 

• What do I want to get out of being on social media? Connection with friends? Exploring specific interests?  
• Do I think I can handle the feelings of social comparison or stress that can come from seeing social media content? 
• What have I done to show my parents that I am mature enough to handle being on social media? 
• Do I finish my school work on time? 
• What limits am I okay with if I’m on social media? What time limits do I think are appropriate? Am I okay with my parents setting certain parental controls? Am I able to put social media down to take care of other responsibilities, such as my homework? Am I able to stop using social media when it is time to go to bed? 

Thinking through these questions on your own and with your parents or caregivers will help you decide together if now is the best time for you to start using social media. 

There are also a few resources you might want to check out, like this Social Media Mini Course created by teens that will help you explore social media’s association with well-being and examine what other teens’ social media experiences have been like. This previous portal response on managing the impacts of social media may also be helpful if you decide to start using social media.  

References

• Charmaraman, L., Lynch, A. D., Richer, A. M., & Grossman, J. M. (2022). Associations of early social media initiation on digital behaviors and the moderating role of limit…. Computers in human behavior, 127, 107053.   
• Charmaraman, L., Richer, A. M., Liu, C., Lynch, A. D., & Moreno, M. A. (2021). Early adolescent social media–related body dissatisfaction: Associations with depressive symptoms, …. Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, 42(5), 401-407.  
• Charmaraman, L., Richer, A. M., Ben-Joseph, E. P., & Klerman, E. B. (2020). Quantity, content, and context matter: Associations among social technology use and sleep habits in…. Journal of Adolescent Health, 67(5), 741-748.   
• Nagata, J. M., Otmar, C. D., Shim, J., Balasubramanian, P., Cheng, C. M., Li, E. J., Al-Shoaibi, A. A. A., Shao, I. Y., Ganson, K. T., Testa, A., Kiss, O., He, J., & Baker, F. C.. (2025). Social Media Use and Depressive Symptoms During Early Adolescence. JAMA Network Open, 8(5), e2511704.   
• Orben, A., Przybylski, A. K., Blakemore, S.-J., & Kievit, R. A.. (2022). Windows of developmental sensitivity to social media. Nature Communications, 13(1).   
• Singh, B., Zhou, M., Curtis, R., Maher, C., & Dumuid, D. (2026). Social Media Use and Well-Being Across Adolescent Development. JAMA pediatrics, e255619. Advance online publication.   

Age: 10-17 

Topics: age for social media, introduction of child to social media, age restrictions for social media 

Role: Adolescent