TEENAGERS ARE USING SOCIAL MEDIA so much that school districts across Contra Costa County, such as the San Ramon Valley Unified School District, the West Contra Costa Unified School District, and the Mt. Diablo Unified School District, have recently implemented strict cellphone policies, requiring students to put their phones in pouches during class time.
The growth of social media is well-documented. Statista, a global data and intelligence portal with around 1,450 professionals, found that since 2017, social media has been on the rise, reaching its peak usage of 5.42 billion people worldwide in 2025, and it’s expected to continue rising.
Statista reported that “In 2025, over 5.44 billion people were estimated to be using social media worldwide, a number projected to increase to over 6.6 billion in 2030.”
A 2023 Gallup survey of 1,500 teenagers found that “Across age groups, the average time spent on social media ranges from as low as 4.1 hours per day for 13-year-olds to as high as 5.8 hours per day for 17-year-olds.”
But even with the cellphone policies, teenagers clearly still spend several hours on social media per day. Yet few parents and teachers ask why, or how, it affects their teenagers’ lives.
Making connections means staying connected
Many teenagers enjoy social media because it allows them to connect with friends and family, notify them of events in school or elsewhere, meet people across platforms, and gain ideas for projects or learn about topics that interest them, according to several teenagers.
Frequent social media use, no matter how innocent, can lead to addiction as an instant dopamine hit can lead to hours a day focused on reels and likes. Several teens interviewed attest to addictive effects because of the fear of missing out on events.
Alia Mouchabeck, a 9th grader at Monte Vista High School in Danville, admitted that, “Some downsides of social media include not spending time with family and friends in real life, being lazy and not wanting to do anything, noticing a negative change in your mental health status, having depression that is hard to change, being brainrotted and noticing a decrease in education and grades, and not paying attention in school.”
Bella Vio, a San Ramon Valley High School student, has recognized the negative effects of social media, including some that she has seen her friends experience.
“It’s so hard to get off your phone once you get onto social media and I’ve seen that, like, I haven’t personally experienced this, but my friends have been, like, oh, they see someone on Instagram looking a certain way, and they get insecure about how they look, so I think for a lot of people, like, social media can make them insecure.”
Carl Nishi, a social worker and youth liaison with the San Ramon Valley Unified School District, has noticed this, as well. According to Nishi, teens are at a point in their development when they are trying to figure out who they are, and social media gives them so many variable answers and influences, which can sometimes be good and sometimes bad. He said that teens can face peer pressure over social media, and that teens are susceptible to people on the internet telling them what they need to look like or do.
“When I was in social services,” he said, “I was aware of some kids being trafficked and being pulled into a lifestyle that they didn’t intend to get into, and all of a sudden, found themselves in a strange place with strange people, being exploited.”
Increased depression, safety concerns
Increased social media use has been linked to increased rates of depression and suicide in teens and tweens, especially when discussing the topic of cyberbullying.
An article on social media use and depression published by the University of California, San Francisco, states: “The study found kids aged 11 to 12 years who were cyberbullied were 2.62 times more likely to report suicidal ideation or a suicide attempt one year later. Additionally, those kids were also 2.31 times more likely to experiment with a substance (4.65 times more likely with marijuana, 3.37 with nicotine, and 1.92 with alcohol) in the following year.”
So while social media can allow people to connect with friends or family in different places, or even meet people who live across the globe, there are always dangers lurking as people attempt to exploit, con, or bully innocent social media users.
Nishi and teenagers offer tips for safe usage of social media.
Esme Dunaway, a San Ramon Valley High School student, suggested ways to stay safe and secure. “Don’t let old men follow you, and don’t post your location somewhere unless you have left that place. Go outside and look at real women and remember that beauty is subjective and that there is no one way to be beautiful,” she said.
Many people, especially teenagers, are susceptible to seeing content on social media instructing them to look or act a certain way and setting unrealistic expectations about what they are supposed to be like instead of who they are or who they want to be.
Morriah Crose, a Pittsburg High School student who also works as a youth ambassador for NAMI — the National Alliance on Mental Illness — offered advice on how to safely use social media.
“I would highly recommend using the screen time or downtimes. … Also, for every, like, hour you spend on screens, maybe spend like five minutes just outside. … (Social media) can be a powerful tool, and it can influence you whether you know it or not. But also, like, if you have friends, don’t let, like, fear be what limits you. Just be wise as you do what you enjoy and find what fits for you,” she said.
Nishi also offered advice for parents: “One hard and fast rule that parents should insist on is that the cellphone just turns off. … Parents need to learn negotiation skills, and also how to implement boundaries in a way that works for the family. … And in cases where a child is entrenched in his or her devices and is just addicted, then they need to seek help for that.
Mya Eifler is a 10th grader at San Ramon Valley High School in Danville and a CCYJ reporter. She is a member of the school’s journalism club, the Wolfprint.
This story originally appeared in CCSpin.