The initial response to the idea of children benefitting from using social media is shock: Isn’t the smartphone a portal to ruin? The second reaction is that this must be some sort of industry-planted story.

It is unfortunate that many of the resources available about social media addiction are funded by social media companies. Recently, it was revealed that they even reach out to organizations such as Sesame Street, Girl Scouts, and Highlights to subsidize technology-flattering content that normalizes premature adoption of dangerous devices.

One problem with a one-size-fits-all response to social media is that it obscures legitimate research that demonstrates the benefits of access to certain applications. An example is the work of Northwestern University’s Center for Behavioral Intervention Technologies (CBIT), which investigates digital mental health services.

In 2022, CBIT researchers teamed up with researchers at Georgia Tech’s School of Interactive Computing to produce a scoping review on social media interventions for youth mental health. While the evidence is thin, an overall conclusion was reached affirming “the ability of social media interventions to improve mental health outcomes.”

The focus of CBIT is not to evaluate the mental health impacts of social media but to find uses for social media that have proven beneficial outcomes. It would be preferable, but not practical, for all children to have access to a licensed therapist during a mental health crisis. However, if digital interventions generate positive results, they can be distributed at scale to relieve some of the pent-up need for juvenile mental health services.

The researchers reviewed 15 studies published between 2017 and 2021. Of the 15 studies, five were for interventions delivered through existing social media sites, such as Facebook. That leaves 10 studies testing “purpose-built networks” that operate as closed social media communities.

The first thing they noticed is that it’s easy to get adoption for these interventions. Kids are already technically savvy and familiar with touching, typing, swiping, and the commands needed to play games and use other applications. Furthermore, the appeal of digital interventions is that patients carry the support team in their pockets. Smartphones, smartwatches, smartglasses, and similar devices are capable of monitoring a variety of vital indicators and reporting changes continuously.

This doesn’t mean, however, that delivering mental health interventions using social media is a good idea. The benefits of telehealth are well-established. The benefits of mental health delivered through social media are what this study is looking for. In part, it is driven by the fact that children often do use social media to ask questions about how to deal with mental health problems.

Patients in most of the studies were children who had been diagnosed by a licensed therapist with a mental health problem. The duration of the digital interventions ranged from two to 12 weeks, with all studies doing at least one follow-up. The interventions themselves represented a great deal of variety and ingenuity, which also made them difficult to compare. They included:

• A private Facebook group with daily postings for eight weeks.
• A Facebook Messenger thread using decision-tree logic threads.
• A Facebook group “psychoeducation intervention.”
• A photo group sharing thoughts about images.
• A daily gratitude group.
• A family-only social media group.

All of the digital interventions presented educational programming through social media in an effort to lead discussion, provoke discussion, or respond to discussions. Many of the studies involved moderated discussion boards where users were free to share anything they wanted to discuss. Eight of these were moderated by professionals, and five were moderated by peers.

Of the 15 studies, five showed a significant effect on depression, and six showed a significant effect on anxiety. Unfortunately, the review does not detail how much improvement patients experienced, or whether that can be attributed to the social media portion of the therapy patients were receiving. But it does show tremendous potential.

When social media is limited to a therapeutic grouping, it can be instrumental in delivering psychosocial education. It has the capability of just-in-time support for juveniles experiencing a mental health crisis. And it can lead to improved mental health outcomes for children.

Just because smartphones, tablets, and similar technology can cause problems for young people doesn’t mean they should be banned; it means they should be controlled. They can be restricted — must be restricted — to preserve adolescent mental health. But they can also be used as a tool to improve mental health with a track record of adoption and success.

Written by Steve O’Keefe. First published June 5, 2026.

Sources:

“Social media-based interventions for adolescent and young adult mental health: A scoping review,” Internet Interventions, April 2022.

“Big Tech turns to Sesame Street, Girl Scouts to deflect scrutiny over kids’ screen time,” Reuters, May 14, 2026.

Image Copyright: lopolo.