# Adolescents' Social Media Use and Internalizing Symptoms: Mechanisms of Risk and Resilience

> **NIH NIH R01** · RHODE ISLAND HOSPITAL · 2024 · $843,097

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Rates of internalizing symptoms (depression, anxiety) among youth have increased significantly over the past
decade. During this same time period, the use of social media (e.g., TikTok, Snapchat) has become nearly
ubiquitous, with 97% of adolescents using at least one platform. Despite growing public concern that social
media has contributed to the youth mental health crisis, little is known about how and for whom social media
use contributes risk for internalizing problems among adolescents. This study aims to identify specific
mechanisms of risk in the context of social media engagement, including youths’ uses of, beliefs about, and
emotional responses to social media. We will recruit a diverse sample of 200 youth (ages 13-16) with a full
range of internalizing symptoms for a four-wave, longitudinal study with assessments at baseline, 6-, 12-, and
18-month follow-up. Participants will engage in an innovative, online experimental eye-tracking task that
simulates peer interactions in a social media environment. At each time point, a real-time, collaborative social
media data collection procedure will be used and dimensional measures of internalizing symptoms collected.
We will also convene a youth advisory board to provide ongoing feedback and insight. The primary aims of this
study are to: (1) Identify social media experiences that increase adolescents’ risk for subsequent internalizing
symptoms, using an experimental, eye-tracking paradigm; (2) Test a longitudinal mediation model whereby
adolescents’ beliefs about social media predict high-risk social media engagement and subsequent
internalizing symptoms; and (3) Examine moderation effects by gender and age in the associations among
beliefs about social media, social media use, and internalizing symptoms (exploratory aim). This research will
offer new insights into the mechanisms of social media’s influence on adolescent internalizing symptoms. It will
identify novel, potentially-modifiable targets for future clinical, education, and public health interventions, and
will have immediate relevance for supporting youth in using social media in healthier ways.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10938725
- **Project number:** 1R01MH137444-01
- **Recipient organization:** RHODE ISLAND HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Jacqueline Nesi
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $843,097
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-08-20 → 2029-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10938725

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10938725, Adolescents' Social Media Use and Internalizing Symptoms: Mechanisms of Risk and Resilience (1R01MH137444-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10938725. Licensed CC0.

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