Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40931420›Full record

ArticleChild and adolescent mental health2025

Debate: Social media in children and young people - time for a ban? From polarised debate to precautionary action - a population mental health perspective on social media and youth well-being.

Oonagh Welsey-Smith, Terry Fleming

Erratum issuedAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Child and adolescent mental health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Oonagh Welsey-SmithTe Puna Hauora/School of Health, Te Herenga Waka/Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand.
Terry FlemingTe Puna Hauora/School of Health, Te Herenga Waka/Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Adolescents spend much of their daily lives online, with social media a central part of their digital environment. While findings are complex, evidence increasingly points to small but relatively consistent harms, particularly for those meeting criteria for problematic use. At the population level, these effects are concerning, given the extraordinary prevalence of exposure to social media, rising rates of problematic use and adolescents' vulnerability to mental ill-health. The complexity of determining causality should not delay action: from a public health perspective, precautionary measures are warranted. We argue for a comprehensive approach that includes effective age verification and age-appropriate protection, regulation of harmful design features for all ages and inclusion of young people's voices. Just as offline environments include regulation and guidance, digital environments must be shaped to support individual and community needs.

Indexed as

Mental HealthSocial MediaAdolescentChildHumansAdolescencemental healthpolicysocial media

Identifiers

PMID40931420
PMCPMC12573059

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.