<figure id="attachment_3047160" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3047160" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-3047160" src="https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/d7abab2c-teen-lifestyle-emelpic-300425.webp" alt="teen" width="1600" height="1000" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3047160" class="wp-caption-text">More than four-in-ten teens say social media platforms hurt the amount of sleep they get. (Envato Elements pic)</figcaption></figure>
PARIS: Whether it&#8217;s the compulsive checking of news feeds, the anxious wait for a reply to a message or the temptation to watch “just one more video,” these habits have become almost commonplace, but they seriously disrupt biological rhythms.
As a result, many teenagers find their sleep delayed, interrupted or even cut short. And they&#8217;re increasingly aware of it.
According to a study by the Pew Research Center, more than four in 10 teenagers (45%) recognise that, generally speaking, social networks harm the amount of sleep they get. But that&#8217;s not their only collateral damage.
The over-use of screens also impinges on their effectiveness in daily life, since 40% of young people surveyed feel that their productivity is affected by social media, and 22% observe a concrete impact on their school grades.
However, when it comes to their mental health, the majority of teenagers temper their judgment.
Half of them feel that social networks have neither a positive nor a negative effect on their psychological well-being. Only 19% say they feel a harmful impact, while 10% feel, on the contrary, that these platforms are beneficial.
The same applies to self-confidence: 19% of young people say that social media helps them to feel better about themselves, while 15% feel that these platforms hurt their confidence. But here again, neutrality dominates, with 46% perceiving neither gain nor loss.
Girls, in particular, appear to be more exposed to the negative effects of social networks. Indeed, 50% of girls say their sleep is disturbed by their use of Instagram, TikTok or Snapchat, versus 40% of boys. When it comes to mental health, 25% of teenage girls evoke a harmful effect, versus 14% of boys. Their self-confidence is also more often shaken, since 20% of girls say that social networks have affected their self-confidence, versus only 10% of boys.
Despite this mixed picture, one positive point emerges: friendships. In this respect, social media appears to be an invaluable resource, since 3 in 10 teenagers say their use of it has strengthened their friendships, while only 7% feel it has damaged them. However, almost half (43%) feel that this impact remains neutral.

MatchPoint Times

More than 4 in 10 teens say social media harms their sleep

For many teenagers, social media isn’t just occupying their free time, it’s also eating away at their hours of sleep.

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