Physiological impacts of social media platforms on adolescent health: a review of key studies and possible directions for future research

Abstract

There has been rapid growth in the literature surrounding the psychological implications of social media (SM) platforms on adolescent well-being. The physiological effects, however, have not been adequately explored. This review examines the implications of SM on i) neural responses, ii) sleep quality, iii) cellular aging, and iv) the adoption of risky health behaviors, with the overall goal of highlighting novel findings within these domains, identifying gaps in current literature, and providing possible directions for future research. The review was conducted using articles extracted from Google Scholar, PubMed, and NCBI searches. In terms of neural responses, the results demonstrate a decreased activation in the cognitive-control region of the adolescent brain while viewing risky images on SM, however, longitudinal data is required to form causal relationships between SM usage and long-term neurodevelopment. In terms of sleep quality, better insight could be gained if pre-sleep arousal in relation to specific content consumed is analyzed. Increased instances of stress induced due to SM call for the inclusion of this factor when examining markers of cellular aging, as there is no study thus far that has aimed to do so. Lastly, the most direct way in which SM can impact adolescents is through the adoption of risky behaviors being broadcast on these platforms. Analysis of these results suggests that SM platforms hold considerable potential to harm the physiological development of adolescents and warrant further investigation to better understand their full ramifications. Awareness of related issues is important for healthcare professionals and public health organizations.