Young people in the European Union view the impact of social media on their mental health far more positively than their parents do, according to a survey commissioned by the European Commission published on Wednesday.
Nearly half of respondents aged 13 to 18, or 48%, said social media had a positive effect on their mental well-being, compared with just 21% of parents surveyed.
Only 18% of adolescents said social media affected their mental health negatively, while 36% of parents believed it had harmful effects. Around one third of adolescents said platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat had neither a positive nor a negative impact on their mental health, compared with about 42% of parents.
The survey also found that parents underestimate their children's screen time. Adolescents reported spending an average of 4.5 hours per school day and 6.1 hours at weekends using phones, tablets or watching television, roughly one hour more than their parents estimated.
Researchers found a link between higher screen time and reported problems such as headaches, difficulty sleeping and trouble concentrating.
However, the report cautioned that the findings should not be interpreted as proof that screen use directly causes mental health problems. It noted that young people already experiencing difficulties may be more likely to spend more time on social media or video games.
The findings were released as an expert group appointed by the European Commission concluded its work on the issue. The group is expected to submit recommendations to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on July 13, including whether restrictions or a ban on social media use by children and teenagers should be considered.
Any EU-wide rules on age verification would fall under the commission's authority, limiting the ability of individual member states to impose additional requirements on major online platforms.
