Clinical management
Social media has postive and negative impacts on adolescent mental health and wellbeing
A narrative literature review explored the perspectives of adolescents (13-17yrs) on the impact of social media on their mental health and wellbeing.
24 relevant articles were reviewed.
Social media was found to contribute to poor mental health, through fear of judgement, validation-seeking practices, body comparison, addiction and cyberbullying.
Positive impacts on wellbeing were gained through improved connections with friends and discussion forums.
WiseGP Approach
Consider exploring the online experiences of young people who present with mental health concerns. There are useful support materials you can signpost young people and their parents to on how to protect against cyberbullying and make time spent online more positive - perhaps a link you could integrate into a saved text message?
Feel out of touch with artificial intelligence and social media advancements? Consider exploring the latest trends with younger relatives, friends or colleagues with children, to help provide some insight on what some young people experience online.
Read more about the research informing this GEM here:
