Although two-in-five Americans (40%) believe that social media is equally beneficial as it is harmful to users, those that believe it’s more harmful than beneficial outpace those that regard it as more beneficial than harmful (32% vs. 17%, respectively).

Younger generations are more likely to believe that social media is equally beneficial and harmful compared to older generations, who are more likely to consider social media more harmful than beneficial. Baby Boomers are the first generation in which beliefs that social media is more harmful than beneficial (39%) outpaces the belief that it’s equally beneficial and harmful (29%). Among the Silent generation, the plurality (62%) regard social media as more harmful than beneficial.

Social media’s perceived impact on mental health (74%) and the addictive nature of social media (72%) are the top reasons Americans consider social media more harmful than beneficial for users. Impact on self-esteem (60%) and impact on social skills (59%) round out the top four reasons as to why some people feel social yields more harm than benefit.

Social media’s impact on body image is a notable concern among younger generations (66% among Gen Z respondents).

Americans overwhelmingly agree that social media is more harmful than beneficial to children under 13 years of age (70%) as well as younger teens aged 13-15 (64%). Fewer hold this viewpoint when it comes to older teens aged 16-18 (45%), although still a relatively small percentage (11%) believe the benefits outweigh the harms among this age group.

Interestingly, non-parents (47%) are more likely than parents (40%) to consider social media more harmful than beneficial to older teens.

More than half of Americans are familiar with the U.S. government’s regulations on social media (58%) as well as social media companies’ efforts to proactively address concerns (57%). Parents are more familiar with these actions than non-parents, particularly the federal government’s regulations on social media (73% vs 50%).

The majority of Americans believe that social media companies are not doing enough to address all key challenges surveyed, the most prevalent of which is protecting children (72%) followed by protecting younger teens (71%). Protecting older teens (65%) falls behind protecting from scamming/phishing (69%), limiting misinformation (68%), and preventing harassment/stalking (68%).

“Although some individual companies are addressing certain concerns, overall, it’s clear that Americans feel that the social media industry’s response is lacking on most issues impacting users.”
– William Stewart, President, Povaddo

The majority of Americans (68%) agree that a social media company proactively addressing concerns about children and teens using their platforms would positively impact their perception of that company. This impact is even greater among parents, three-in-four (76%) of whom say that a social media company proactively addressing concerns regarding children and teens would positively impact their perception of them.

“As Gen Z continues to age alongside social media, control over children and teens’ access to social media will fall to this generation as they become parents. Proactively addressing concerns with younger generations will be important to protect long-term platform usage among future generations whose parents have themselves experienced the negatives of growing up on social media.”
– Shelby Johnson, Senior Research Director, Povadddo