In 2011, my first year as a school counsellor, a teacher phoned me in my office and asked me to come to his classroom to collect a student who needed to talk to me. “Come quickly,” he said. “I want you to see something.” I arrived moments later at his classroom door to see him standing beside a student’s desk, talking to her. “Are you done yet?” he was asking her. Her muffled response was, “No, I need another minute.” I could see the student’s body, but her head and arms were entirely inside her backpack. Yes, really, inside her backpack.
“What is going on?” I asked the teacher.
“She was using her phone in class. I asked her to put the phone inside her backpack,” he told me. “I didn’t expect her to go inside the backpack with it.”
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I walked over and took a closer look. The student was a ninth-grade girl, quite a small girl, and the backpack was indeed large enough for her to be partially inside it while using her phone. “What are you doing?” I asked her. “Snapchat”, said the muffled voice, “I can’t lose my streaks.”
This wasn’t the first time in my career that I had encountered an adolescent who was having trouble separating themselves from their social media account even for a moment… but this was something I had never seen before. It sparked my curiosity, and years later social media and its impact on adolescent mental health became the subject of my doctoral work.
Since then, and particularly post-Covid, social media has become an integral part of adolescent life, shaping social interactions, self-perception, and mental health. While platforms like Instagram and Snapchat provide avenues for connection and self-expression, they also introduce risks such as anxiety, depression, and excessive social comparison. School counsellors can play a critical role in mitigating these negative effects by promoting digital literacy, resilience, and emotional regulation strategies. Adolescents engage with social media for social connection, academic collaboration, and entertainment.
Despite some risks, social media offers several benefits for adolescents when used mindfully. First, it helps teens stay socially connected. Whether maintaining friendships or building new support networks, these platforms allow for ongoing connection and meaningful conversations, even outside of school hours (Sriranjan, 2022). Social media can serve as a space for identity exploration. Adolescents can experiment with self-expression and creativity in ways that might feel safer online than in person. This process can support the development of a personal identity, particularly during the turbulent years of adolescence (Szambolics et al., 2023). Many young people use social media to access academic support, mental health resources, and educational content. This digital literacy can enhance learning and increase awareness of wellbeing strategies (Maftei et al., 2023). Finally, these platforms offer opportunities for advocacy. Many teens report being engaged in online activism, lending their voices to causes they care about and cultivating a sense of agency and social responsibility.
However, the downsides of social media use, especially when unmoderated, are significant. One well-documented issue is the fear of missing out, or FOMO. Adolescents may experience anxiety when they see peers attending events or sharing moments they weren’t part of, often leading to compulsive checking and scrolling (Przybylski, 2013). Social comparison is another concern. Constant exposure to idealized images and lifestyles can harm self-esteem, particularly for teens already prone to self-doubt (Santosh & Chatterjee, 2024). Over time, this can contribute to feelings of inadequacy and low self-worth. Research shows a clear link between high social media use and increased symptoms of anxiety and depression. For many adolescents, screen time replaces in-person interaction, increasing isolation and reducing opportunities for emotional regulation (Gupta et al., 2022). When adolescents turn to social media for emotional support or validation, they may develop unhealthy patterns that interfere with sleep, school, and real-world relationships (Sela et al., 2020). Research shows that sleep patterns are now common among teens who use their phones late into the night. The resulting fatigue can impair concentration and reduce academic performance (Steele et al., 2023). Lastly, cyberbullying and online harassment remain serious threats. Negative digital interactions can have lasting impacts on adolescents’ mental health, especially when they occur in spaces where youth seek validation and belonging.
Given the pervasive role of social media in adolescent life, school counsellors are well positioned to intervene in meaningful ways. In collaboration with teachers, we can help students critically assess their digital engagement and support their mental wellbeing. One key approach is to build digital literacy. This includes encouraging students to question the authenticity of online content, recognize idealized portrayals, and understand how these images can distort reality. Teaching privacy skills, like adjusting settings and managing digital footprints, can empower students to take control of their online presence (Pangrazio & Cardozo-Gaibisso, 2023). School-based workshops can enhance these efforts, equipping students with tools for respectful and thoughtful communication (Throuvala et al., 2019a). As part of these initiatives, we must also address cyberbullying and harassment, helping students understand both how to protect themselves and when to seek help. Time management tools can help students set healthy boundaries. But digital wellbeing isn’t just about time spent online; it’s also about building the internal resources that make young people more resilient in a connected world.
Counsellors play a key role in fostering self-worth beyond digital validation. When students learn to value themselves outside of likes, views, or follower counts, they’re less likely to be destabilized by online interactions (Al-Nasa’h & Shadi, 2024). We can also teach mindfulness practices to help students stay grounded and reduce the stress associated with constant connectivity (Chan et al., 2022). Encouraging offline activities like clubs, sports, and volunteering can offer teens a counterbalance to their digital lives and nurture real-world social connections (Shoshani et al., 2024).
To address fear of missing out (FOMO) and social comparison, we can draw on CBT-informed strategies to help students identify and challenge distorted thoughts like “Everyone else is happier than me” or “I’m being left out” (Gupta & Sharma, 2021). Teaching students to curate their feeds by unfollowing accounts that evoke insecurity or anxiety can also be powerful (Bloemen & De Coninck, 2020). Tools like screen-time limits or app timers support these changes practically (Khetawat & Steele, 2023). Group counselling or peer mentoring can provide safe spaces for students to share their experiences and build healthier online habits together.
Parental involvement strengthens these efforts. Counsellors can host sessions that guide parents in establishing screen-time boundaries, promoting open conversations, and modeling balanced tech use (Tokoskova et al., 2022; Barry & Kim, 2024). Supporting parents in avoiding conflict or alienation around social media rules is especially important during adolescence (Charmaraman & Grevet Delcourt, 2021).
Effective counselling interventions are both individual and systemic. One-on-one sessions allow us to support students struggling with compulsive use or self-image issues (Meradaputhi et al., 2022). Group psychoeducation can address common concerns like anxiety, stress, or FOMO (Pybus et al., 2022). We can also incorporate narrative therapy techniques, helping students reframe their digital identities and tell stories that highlight strength and agency. Even a simple digital detox challenge can provide valuable insight and a break from unhealthy patterns. At the school-wide level, collaboration with administrators and faculty is crucial. Together, we can introduce digital wellness programs that promote balance and self-care (Throuvala et al., 2019b). Embedding social media education into the curriculum further reinforces critical thinking, emotional awareness, and digital boundaries (Maltby et al., 2024).
While social media is embedded in adolescent culture, the psychological risks it brings demand action. As counsellors, we are at the frontline of equipping students to develop emotional resilience, navigate digital challenges, and build a balanced relationship with technology.
The 14-year-old girl I met in 2011 who chose to spend her Social Studies class with her head inside her backpack just to preserve her Snapchat streaks graduated several years ago. I have thought of her often since then, not because she was the most troubled student I’ve ever met, but because she was one of the first to show me, in a very literal way, the powerful grip social media was taking on our young people. Throughout my work in high schools, I have learned that where it comes to social media use, young people need more from us than just warnings and lectures. They need space to reflect on how social media is impacting them, and they need to have these conversations with adults who understand that their social media use is often very deeply woven into their self-identities. We can’t pull their heads out of their backpacks. But we can support them to find their own way back out, and we can walk with them as they navigate a very different world from the one we grew up in.
THE AUTHOR:
Lisa Porter, CCC, former school counsellor, current Associate Director at City University M.Ed. School Counselling program
References
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