In the ever-growing market of internet safety products, fear sells. One of the latest outrageous claims being used to market an internet safety product to parents stated:
“The data is clear, the earlier we give a child a smartphone and social media, and the more time they spend on screens, the more likely they are to experience a suicidal outcome.”
At first glance, this statement appears alarming, but does the data truly support it? The answer is NO! In fact, current research in teen suicide rates contradict this fear-based narrative.
The Reality of Teen Suicide Rates
Contrary to the claim that increased screen time and social media leads to an inevitable rise in teen suicides, the actual statistics tell a different story:
- Teen suicide rates in the United States have been declining for the past six years. (1)
- Teen suicide rates in Canada have also dropped.
NOTE – Despite this decline, suicide remains a significant concern, being the second leading cause of death among youth in Canada. (2)
If increased screen time among youth and teens directly caused higher suicide rates, we would expect a steady rise over time rather than a decline in youth and teen suicide given the increase use of cellphones over the years.
It’s also worth noting that youth and teen suicide rates were significantly higher before smartphones became common among teens, so what was driving those higher rates before phones, since it clearly wasn’t smartphones?
The Global Perspective: What About Other High-Tech Nations?
If the assertion that the more time youth and teens spend on screens, the more likely they are to experience a suicidal outcome were true, we would see the same trends across all technologically advanced nations. However, this is not the case.
In countries like South Korea, where smartphone and social media use among youth surpasses that of North America, youth anxiety and depression rates have actually declined since 2005. (3) This directly contradicts the claim that digital device usage alone is the driving factor behind mental health struggles.
Dr. Christopher Ferguson, a US psychologist and researcher specializing in media and mental health, challenges the assumption that social media is driving a teen suicide crisis:
“Research evidence has found that multi-year patterns in teen social media use do not predict patterns in teen suicide. Add to this that teen suicides (but not older adult suicides) declined in 2022, and this suggests we’re on the wrong path. If social media were causing an increase in teen suicides or other mental health problems, we’d expect to see this pattern across countries that have high technology adoption. But we don’t. Across Europe as well as Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, there is no pattern that indicates an increase in suicides among teens during the social media age.” (4)
This underscores an important point: simplistic cause-and-effect claims about social media and youth mental health fail to account for the complexities of psychological well-being. Confounding factors such as family environment, socioeconomic status, and access to mental health resources to name only a few, play significant roles in adolescent mental health. (5) For example, there is a correlation between the rise in police-reported family violence against children and youth in Canada since 2015, which almost mirrors the increase in the teen mental health crisis over the same period. (6) We would suggest that this is a confounding factor that those blaming cellphones as the primary cause fail to acknowledge.
We have also seen the same thing in the United States
As Dr. Mike Males has stated specific to the Youth Risk Behaviour Surveillance System Report (7) , “85% of depressed teens come from troubled homes, and abused teens use social media more, means we have to untangle those effects on their mental health before we can delineate smaller (if any) social media issues.“
Using exaggerated claims to sell internet safety products to parents does more harm than good. It fosters unnecessary panic, shifts focus away from evidence-based solutions, and misleads caregivers into believing that restricting technology is the primary solution to youth mental health challenges.
While it is important to encourage healthy digital habits, it is equally critical to avoid fear-mongering that is not backed by solid evidence. Instead of focusing on outright bans or restrictions, parents should engage in open conversations with their children about online experiences, critical thinking, and responsible digital citizenship.
The idea that social media and smartphone use alone are driving a teen suicide epidemic is not supported by global data. It is crucial to question narratives that rely on fear rather than facts. Parents and caregivers deserve accurate, research-based information, and not misleading claims designed to sell products.
Can cellphones and social media be a confounding factor in “some” youth and teen deaths by suicide, Yes – as many psychologist and psychiatrists who study youth and teens suicide will state, “it’s multifactorial” and technology “may” be a piece of the puzzle. An example, we have had 5 death by suicide of teen boys in Canada over the past 5 years who were the target of an online sextortion.
However, to say , ”The data is clear, the earlier we give a child a smartphone and social media, and the more time they spend on screens, the more likely they are to experience a suicidal outcome.”, is just not true based on the good evidence based research.
As As Dr. Tyler Black (Medical Director of the CAPE Unit at BC Children’s Hospital and BC Mental Health and Substance Use Services, Suicidologist, and specialist in Paediatric Emergency Psychiatry) stated in a tweet specific to youth suicide and suicidal ideations:
“The idea that media, social media, technology, or whatever else luddites hate is strongly correlated with increasing suicidal thinking in kids is ahistorical and dishonest.”
Digital Food For Thought:
The White Hatter
Facts Not Fear, Facts Not Emotions, Enlighten Not Frighten, Know Tech Not No Tech
References:
1/ https://mikemales.substack.com/p/just-released-figures-expose-again
2/ https://childhealthpolicy.ca/suicide-cause-of-death/
3/ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1054139X2300109X
7/ https://www.cdc.gov/yrbs/data/index.html?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
