History and Evolution

As social media has evolved, research on the impact of developing platforms has demonstrated a variety of effects. Medrut (2021) tracked increased effects on teen mental health and screen addiction as younger users migrated from early platforms such as Facebook to more recently favored environments such as Twitter/X. Harrison et al. (2024) voice concerns that legal regulations lag approximately 2 decades behind technological advances, noting the need for increased research and policy changes to protect teenagers. More recently, Cabezas-Klinger et al. (2025) demonstrate an alarming increase in social media-related suicide, noting that 40 percent of teenagers who die by suicide demonstrate suicidal thinking in online environments (p.5). The ongoing research into social media influence on teenagers continues to explore mental health needs and the potential need for regulation.