Social Media Use, Distress, and Smartphone-Related Behavioral Dysregula- tion Across Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood
This 2024 German study of 2,042 individuals aged 14–29 found that while psychological distress and smartphone-related behavioral dysregulation are consistently linked across adolescence and emerging adulthood, the specific associations between social media platforms and these outcomes vary by age, with adolescents showing the most diverse and significant platform-specific effects.
Original paper licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This is an AI-generated explanation of the paper below. It is not written or endorsed by the authors. For technical accuracy, refer to the original paper. Read full disclaimer
Imagine your mind as a bustling city, and your smartphone as the main subway system that everyone uses to get around. For a long time, scientists have been worried that taking too many subway rides might make the city feel chaotic, tired, or sad. They call this "psychological distress" (feeling overwhelmed, anxious, or down) and "behavioral dysregulation" (losing control over your habits, like scrolling when you should be sleeping). But here's the twist: not all subway lines are the same. Some are fast, flashy, and full of bright lights; others are quiet, private, and just for talking to friends. The big question researchers are asking is: Does it matter which line you ride, or is it just the fact that you're on the train that causes the trouble? This study dives into that question, looking at how different digital "lines" affect the mental well-being of young people as they grow from teenagers into young adults.
The researchers, Nina Kolleck, Keith Goldstein, and Klaus Hurrelmann, decided to stop treating "social media" as one giant, blurry blob. Instead, they looked at four specific apps popular in Germany: Instagram and TikTok (the flashy, visual ones), and WhatsApp and Telegram (the messaging ones). They surveyed 2,042 people aged 14 to 29 to see how regularly using these specific apps connected to feeling distressed or losing control over their phone use.
Here is what they found, and it's a bit like discovering that different subway lines have different effects on your mood:
The Flashy Lines vs. The Quiet Lines
The study suggests that the apps focused on looking at pictures and videos—Instagram and TikTok—were the biggest troublemakers when it came to losing control over phone use. If someone used these apps regularly, they were much more likely to report "smartphone-related behavioral dysregulation." Think of this as getting stuck on a ride that is so exciting and fast-paced that you forget to get off, even when you're tired or need to sleep.
In contrast, the messaging apps behaved differently. WhatsApp had a much smaller connection to losing control, and Telegram didn't seem to cause a loss of control at all. However, Telegram did show a link to feeling distressed (feeling anxious or down), but not necessarily to the "can't-stop-scrolling" behavior. It's as if the messaging apps might sometimes make you worry about something, but they don't necessarily turn your brain into a slot machine.
The "Feeling Bad" Loop
The study also confirmed a strong loop: when people felt more psychological distress (sadness, anxiety, boredom), they were more likely to lose control over their phone use. It's like being in a bad mood makes you want to hide in the subway car and ignore the stops. This happened across all age groups, from 14-year-olds to 29-year-olds.
Does Age Change the Ride?
The researchers wondered if teenagers (14–18) reacted differently than young adults (19–29). They found that the "flashy" apps (Instagram and TikTok) were the most strongly linked to losing control for the youngest group. In fact, the model explained the most about why teenagers struggled with phone control compared to the older groups. However, once they corrected for the fact that they were testing so many different things, the only statistically significant difference between age groups was the link between TikTok and losing control. This link was strongest for the 14-to-18-year-olds. For the rest of the connections, the pattern was surprisingly similar across all ages: the flashy apps were more linked to behavioral issues, and feeling bad was linked to losing control.
What This Doesn't Tell Us
It is important to remember that this study is like a snapshot in time, not a movie. They asked people what they did and how they felt at that moment. They cannot prove that Instagram causes the loss of control, or that losing control causes the distress. It could be that people who are already struggling with control are just drawn to TikTok more. The study also didn't ask how people used the apps (did they post? did they just watch? did they compare themselves to others?), only if they used them regularly. So, while we know the "flashy" apps are linked to the problem, we don't know exactly which part of the app is the culprit.
The Bottom Line
The main takeaway is that we shouldn't just say "social media is bad." It's more like saying "public transport is bad." Some lines might be stressful, some might be relaxing, and some might just be for getting from A to B. For young people, the visual, fast-paced apps like Instagram and TikTok seem to be the ones most closely tied to losing control over phone habits, while the messaging apps play a different, less disruptive role. The study suggests that to help young people, we need to look at the specific "lines" they are riding, not just how many miles they travel.
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