France’s ANSES warns that social media harms adolescent mental health, with girls disproportionately affected, fueling debates and potential legislation to restrict access for under-15s.

The agency bases its conclusions on five years of multidisciplinary work and cites about 1,000 studies documenting effects such as sleep disruption, irritability, sadness, and depressive symptoms.

ANSES argues for acting at the source to protect health, supporting debates on banning access for younger teens and requiring platforms to redesign algorithms and persuasive techniques.

Looking ahead, researchers say future work should assess newer technologies, but core mechanisms like dark patterns and content personalization remain relevant across platforms.

The report highlights bidirectional effects: vulnerable youth may seek emotionally charged content, which then amplifies distress via algorithmic recommendations.

Infinite scrolling, likes, notifications, and auto-playing videos are identified as mechanisms that reinforce harmful content and disrupt sleep, especially before bedtime.

Harms include exposure to suicide or self-harm content, dangerous challenges, substance prompts, cyberviolence, and non-consensual sharing of intimate images.

Algorithms and personalization can push minors toward self-harm content, risky behaviors, and cyberviolence, amplified by anonymity and rapid sharing.

The report aims to inform policymakers and encourage platform responsibility and accountability.

Many 12- to 17-year-olds use smartphones for 2–5 hours daily, creating a feedback loop that worsens sleep, mood, and body-image pressures from retouched images.

The agency calls for acting at the source by requiring platforms to modify algorithms, persuasive interfaces, and default settings, with reliable age checks and parental consent in line with EU DSA and GDPR.

Governance should enforce redesigns of algorithms and interfaces to protect minors and ensure age verification and parental consent before accessing certain content.