What Gen Z thinks about its social media and smartphone usage

Recent conversations about the mental health impact of social media and smartphone usage on children have spurred efforts to curb access to both. Many policy reform efforts have included schools going “phone-free” during the school day, and others have sought to introduce minimum age limits for social media, similar to age limits for driving or tobacco and alcohol consumption.

In collaboration with renowned social psychologist and author Jonathan Haidt and his research team, The Harris Poll recently surveyed a representative sample of 1,006 Gen Z adults, aged 18-27 about their beliefs regarding the impact that social media and smartphones have had on them and whether they’d support select reform efforts to address addiction.

Below are some of the key findings from the study:

Perhaps the most surprising result was that in this generation, the first to grow up with social media woven into their lives, nearly half report that they wish that each of TikTok (47%), Snapchat (43%), and X (formerly Twitter, 50%) were never invented, while less than a quarter wish that YouTube (15%), Netflix (17%), the internet itself (17%), messaging apps (19%), and the smartphone (21%) were never invented. Nearly all have taken steps to limit their social media usage at some point.

About half of adult Gen Z social media users (47%) report that they use social media for 2-4 hours per day. Sixty percent of the sample spend at least 4 hours a day, with 22% saying they spend seven or more hours each day.

Forty-nine percent are satisfied with (with 7% reporting being indifferent to) their current level of engagement on social media. A third (32%) want to be less engaged, and 13% want to be more engaged.

Eight in 10 (83%) have taken steps to limit social media usage at some point. Among the steps most frequently taken are:

• Unfollowing or muting an account: 42%
• Deleting a social media app: 40%
• Disabling out-of-app notifications: 36%
• Disabling in-app notifications: 32%

Those who want to be less engaged more often report taking steps related to access and time spent compared to their counterparts:

• Temporarily deactivate an account: 43% (vs 22% more engaged vs 24% no change)
• Permanently deactivate an account: 23% (vs 10% vs 14%)
• Set self-imposed time limits: 42% (vs 29% more engaged vs 26% no change)
• Use timer tools: 25% (vs 19% vs 16%)

Social media provides most users with entertainment and connection, but many note that it may come at a cost.

Nine in 10 adult Gen Z (94%) associate social media use with the word entertaining, and 76% of those who use social media use it as an entertainment source. The same share (94%) associate social media use with the word connection. At the same time, 57% of users associate it with the word isolation.

Eight in 10 adult Gen Z (82%) associate social media use with the word addicting and 57% associate it with the word boredom. Two-thirds (69%) of social media users do it to pass time, with one-third (34%) citing it as a force of habit.

Gen Z women tend to more frequently associate negative words with social media than do Gen Z men.

When it comes to social media, young adults (18-27) often recognize a positive personal impact and a negative societal impact.

About half of Adult Gen Z think that social media has a very positive (18%) or somewhat positive (34%) impact on their life overall, while 29% note an at least somewhat negative impact. This may be driven, at least in part, by their perceived emotional and social impacts:

• Emotional health: 45% positive (vs 37% negative) impact
• Social health: 61% positive (vs 23% negative) impact

That said, more Gen Z women feel social media has had a negative impact on their emotional health (44%) than a positive one (40%), and the same is true for their behavioral health. More Gen Zers think social media has had a negative impact (42%) than a positive one (39%) on their behavioral health, with that split being 45%-33% among Gen Z women and 38%-45% among Gen Z men.

Similar discrepancies are found between LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ respondents. More LGBTQ respondents (47%) reported that social media has had a negative impact on their emotional health than non-LGBTQ respondents (35%), and the same is true for their physical health.

Fewer think that social media has had a positive impact on their generation (33%) or society as a whole (32%). In fact, three in five (59%) think social media has had a negative impact on their generation overall. Three in five (60%) likewise think social media has had a negative impact on society overall.

Forty percent of respondents agreed (11% strongly) with the statement that they wish social media had never been invented. Sixty percent disagreed with that statement (28% strongly disagreeing). The percentage of agreement varied across specific social media platforms. On the one end were YouTube (15%) and messaging apps (19%). On the other end were Instagram (34%), Facebook (36%), Snapchat (43%), TikTok (47%), and X/Twitter (50%).

A substantial majority (69%) support a law requiring social media companies to develop a “child safe” account option for users younger than 18 (vs only 17% who oppose and 15% who neither support nor oppose).

Their support is more mixed when it comes to a law banning people younger than 16 from using social media; 44% net oppose (24% strongly and 19% somewhat) and 36% net support (18% strongly and 18% somewhat). More Gen Z women (42%) support than oppose (40%) such a law.

Young adults generally view smartphones favorably but are open to restrictions from parents and schools.

Twenty-one percent agree (7% strongly) that they wish smartphones had never been invented, while 79% disagree (54% strongly).

Six in 10 strongly (26%) or somewhat (31%) support a parent restricting their child’s access to smartphones until high school age. One in five (21%) oppose. Nearly half (45%) would place such a restriction on their own child.

Four in 10 strongly (21%) or somewhat (23%) support schools adopting a “phone-free” policy. This is more than the 37% that at least somewhat oppose.

This survey was conducted online in the United States by The Harris Poll from August 8, 2024 to August 15, 2024 among 1,006 adults, aged 18-27 (Adult Gen Z). Figures were weighted where necessary to align with actual proportions within the population. For additional information, please contact The Harris Poll.