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The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos Podcast
What is Social Media Doing to Kids? with Dr. Jean Twenge

What is Social Media Doing to Kids? with Dr. Jean Twenge

The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos vor 5 Monaten

0:00

34:46

Over the past
decade, rates of depression
and loneliness have surged among young people. Many researchers
point to one major change: the rise of smartphones and social
media. But what does the data actually show?

Psychologist Jean Twenge has spent years studying how technology
shapes adolescent happiness. Dr. Laurie sits down with her to
unpack new findings from the 2026 World Happiness Report on how
social media use affects teen wellbeing around the world.

What happens when kids spend hours a day on these platforms? Is
any amount of social media actually beneficial? And what can we
all do to build healthier relationships with our phones,
regardless of age?

Resources mentioned in this episode:

“What is the International Day of Happiness?”

“World Happiness Report 2026”

iGen: Why Today's Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less
Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy—and Completely Unprepared
for Adulthood

“Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?”

“National Trends in the Prevalence and Treatment of Depression in
Adolescents and Young Adults”

“Pew Research Center Mobile Fact Sheet”

“Increases in Depression, Self‐Harm, and Suicide Among U.S.
Adolescents After 2012 and Links to Technology Use: Possible
Mechanisms”

“The Effects of Social Media Restriction: Meta-Analytic Evidence
from Randomized controlled Trials”

“Am I Happier Without You? Social Media Detox and Well-Being: A
Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials”

PISA 2022 Database

10 Rules for Raising Kids in a High-Tech World: How Parents Can
Stop Smartphones, Social Media, and Gaming from Taking Over Their
Children's Lives

“Over 20,000 Educators Share Insights on School Cell Phone
Policies”

“Managing Student Digital Distraction in the College Classroom: a
Self-Determination Theory Perspective”

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