Health Warnings Could Cut Youth Social Media Use

Published on 05/09/2026 – 12:02 GMT+2

Alcohol and tobacco products carry health warnings about their adverse effects. Researchers propose that social media should receive comparable warnings, such as pop‑up notices stating, “Using social media causes sleep problems, which is harmful to health,” and “Social media is linked to significant mental‑health harms for children and adolescents.”

Exactly such pop‑up messages appeared in a study published in JAMA Health Forum. The notices highlighted the negative impacts of social media, including depression, anxiety, deteriorated body image, and sleep disruption. Researchers suggest this could serve as another tool to help youths manage their social‑media use more healthily.

“Like warnings on tobacco and alcohol, well‑designed label messages can alter behaviour,” said Anna Grummon, assistant professor of paediatrics and lead author of the study. “Since social media differs from cigarettes or alcohol, these warnings must appear as pop‑up messages that users encounter while scrolling, rather than being permanently attached to a product,” she explained.

The study involved more than 1,000 youths aged 13 to 29. After viewing 14 pop‑up warnings covering seven health topics — social‑media addiction, negative body image, sleep disturbance, depression, anxiety, overall mental‑health risks, and the lack of evidence that social media is safe for young people — their awareness of these risks increased.

Participants consistently reported that the warning messages reduced their social‑media usage, according to the authors.

Youth were asked to evaluate each message in response to two questions: how much the message discouraged them from using social media, and how much it raised their awareness of its harms.

The most effective messages were those warning about mental‑health harms such as depression and anxiety, except for the addiction warning.

Although the data did not explain why these messages performed best, Grummon speculated, “These are harms that resonate with people — individuals recognize that depression or anxiety could affect themselves or friends, and these are outcomes they care about.”

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