Growing concern about the effects of social media on the mental health and well-being of young people has fueled academic, institutional, and societal debates. Although several studies in psychology and social sciences have suggested a negative relationship between the use of these platforms and subjective well-being, most have methodological limitations that make it difficult to identify causality. Maurizio Pugno’s article, published in Academia Mental Health and Well-Being, proposes an alternative and robust approach: economic analysis based on natural experiments, allowing for more reliable causal inferences about the deleterious effects of social media among young people.
The economic evidence analyzed by Pugno is based on the use of natural experiments — situations in which the introduction of access to high-speed internet or specific platforms, such as Facebook, occurred in a staggered manner and independent of the individual characteristics of the users. This allows comparisons between populations exposed and not exposed to social media, with control for confounding variables, which strengthens the inferential capacity of the studies. The results, obtained in five European countries and the USA, converge on the same finding: the use of social media has significantly negative effects on the mental health and well-being of young people, with an even more pronounced impact among girls (Pugno, 2025).
This theoretical approach introduces an innovative explanation for the negative effects: the displacement of beneficial activities—focused on the future and social interaction—by interactions of immediate gratification promoted by social media. In other words, it is not just a question of the temporary replacement of tasks, but of the loss of cognitive and social functions associated with the construction of long-term goals. Intensive exposure to these platforms shapes addictive behavior that, according to the economic literature, reflects preferences biased towards the present. In young people, whose emotional maturity and capacity for self-regulation are still developing, these effects are exacerbated, impairing the development of skills essential for adult life (Pugno, 2025).
From an empirical perspective, the studies reviewed show that access to high-speed internet is correlated with substantial increases in hospital diagnoses of depression, anxiety, eating disorders and sleep disorders, especially among adolescents. In the United States, for example, the introduction of Facebook on university campuses significantly increased rates of depressive symptoms among students, especially women. In the United Kingdom and Germany, the availability of broadband had negative effects on satisfaction with appearance, school life and relationships. In Italy and Spain, the association between access to digital technology and increased hospitalizations for mental disorders in adolescents was direct and robust (Pugno, 2025).
Another key point addressed by Pugno is digital addiction as an economic phenomenon. The use of social media becomes a vicious cycle of momentary self-satisfaction that replaces activities that promote personal and social development. The theory of rational addiction, proposed by Becker and Murphy, is mobilized to show how individuals can rationally choose harmful behaviors when their immediate benefits outweigh the perceived future costs. This situation is aggravated in young people, who have a lower capacity for self-control and intertemporal judgment. Thus, social media not only consumes time, but also corrupts the development of essential human capabilities (Pugno, 2025).
By analyzing the mechanisms by which these platforms affect well-being, the article also highlights the responsibility of the companies that operate these systems. Designed to maximize engagement and profits through advertising, these platforms exploit the cognitive and emotional vulnerabilities of users — especially younger ones — to keep their attention. This business model, far from promoting well-being, can be considered a vector of large-scale social and economic harm.
The author concludes with two fundamental suggestions for public policies: promoting competition in the digital platform market, in order to reduce monopolistic power and its exploitative bias; and implementing educational and regulatory measures aimed at reducing the harmful use of social media by children and adolescents. Limiting access in school environments, already adopted by several countries, appears to be a concrete and effective measure in this regard (Pugno, 2025).
In short, Pugno’s article offers a valuable contribution to the debate by bringing a causal and interdisciplinary approach to the impacts of social media on the well-being of young people. He points to the urgency of public policies and social actions that address not only the symptoms, but also the structural causes of this contemporary problem, based on solid evidence and a perspective that integrates economics, psychology, and neuroscience.
Reference:
PUGNO, Maurizio. Does social media harm young people’s well-being? A suggestion from economic research. Academia Mental Health and Well-Being, [Sl], v. 2, 2025. DOI: https://doi.org/10.20935/MHealthWellB7581. Available at: https://www.academia.edu/journals/academia-mental-health-and-well-being/about. Accessed on: June 17, 2025.
