67. The impact of social media on adolescent affective disorders and intervention strategies

Abstract Background Social media has become an essential part of adolescents’ daily lives, but while facilitating communication, it may also intensify emotional fluctuations and psychological burden. In recent years, the incidence of affective disorders among adolescents—such as anxiety, depression, and emotional dysregulation—has risen substantially. Numerous studies suggest strong associations among social media usage, social comparison, cyberbullying, and emotional dependence. However, existing research often focuses on descriptive findings and lacks systematic examination of underlying mechanisms as well as empirical evidence supporting intervention strategies. Therefore, this study analyzes the impact of social media on adolescent affective disorders from behavioral, psychological, and platform-ecological perspectives and evaluates feasible intervention strategies. Methods A mixed-methods model combining a cross-sectional survey with an experimental intervention was used to analyze the impact of social media on adolescent affective disorders and assess intervention effectiveness. A total of 798 valid responses were collected from six secondary schools and two universities nationwide. The survey assessed variables including social media usage duration, social comparison tendency, frequency of cyberbullying exposure, emotional dependence, and affective disorder scores. Among these participants, 120 adolescents with higher levels of emotional distress were randomly selected for the intervention experiment and assigned to a social media management intervention group (n = 60) or a control group (n = 60). The intervention group received a six-week integrated program that included usage restriction planning, emotional awareness training, and guidance on positive online interactions. Multiple regression analysis, structural equation modeling, and pre–post paired tests were used to examine mechanisms and intervention effectiveness. Results Survey results showed a significant positive correlation between high-frequency social media use and affective disorder scores, with adolescents using social media for more than three hours daily exhibiting a 41.27% higher risk of emotional disorders. Social comparison tendencies markedly intensified negative emotional responses, increasing emotional dysregulation scores by 28.63%. Adolescents exposed to cyberbullying had anxiety and depression scores 34.12% higher on average than those without such exposure. Structural equation modeling further indicated that social media indirectly influenced the development of affective disorders through a chain pathway involving negative social comparison and emotional exhaustion. The intervention experiment demonstrated that emotional dysregulation scores in the intervention group decreased by 32.48%, significantly greater than the 9.56% reduction in the control group (p