Recruiting

Social Media

Sponsor:

Georgetown University

Code:

NCT06049888

Conditions

Mental Health

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 10 - 14

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Interventions

Restricted Social Media

Study Details

Brief summary:

The mental health of adolescents in the United States has seen a steep decline, roughly coinciding with the increasing popularity of social media and smartphones. But does social media have a causal impact on the mental health of adolescents or are concerns about the effect of social media on kids a form of public hysteria? In this study, the investigators will conduct the first field experiment in 10-14-year-olds to examine whether, how, and for whom social media harms mental health.

Conditions

Mental Health

Study ID

NCT06049888

Start date

Sep 29, 2024

Status verified date

Jul, 2026

Completion date

Jun 1, 2028

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Mar 2, 2028

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 10 - 14

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

1. is an adolescent who is between the ages of 10 and 14;
2. is an adolescent whose parents have decided to buy them their first smartphone;
3. is an adolescent both of whose parents/guardians consent for them to be in the study;
4. is an adolescent who assents to be in the study; 5) is an adolescent who speaks and reads English sufficiently to complete surveys and provide informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. is an adolescent who has severe developmental problems (e.g., autism, severe language delay);
2. is an adolescent who is currently or has ever been diagnosed with severe or moderately severe mental illness;
3. is an adolescent who is currently or has ever experienced suicidal ideation.

Study Design

Enrollment

500 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Crossover

Primary purpose

Basic Science

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

no intervention: Naturalistic Social Media

In this control condition, participants will have no study-imposed restrictions on social media use.

experimental: Restricted Social Media

Participants will have social media apps on their phones blocked for three months.

Interventions

Restricted Social Media

Participants (N = 500) will be randomly assigned to either have no study-imposed restrictions on social media use (naturalistic social media condition) or have no access to social media apps on their phones (restricted social media condition). This manipulation will last three months, after which both groups will have no study-imposed restrictions on social media for three more months.

Primary outcome measure

  • Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS-25): Total Score [ Time Frame: Baseline, three months, and six months ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Kostadin Kushlev, PhD

804-585-4385kk1199@georgetown.edu

Locations

Georgetown University

Recruiting

Washington D.C., District of Columbia, United States, 20057

Contacts

Kostadin Kushlev, PhD

kk1199@georgetown.edu

More Information

Sponsor

Georgetown University

Last update posted

Jul 8, 2026

Last verified

Jul, 2026

Keywords

  • social media
  • mental health
  • depression
  • anxiety

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Georgetown University on 2026-07-08.