1. Teens who spend 4+ hours a day on screens are about twice as likely to report recent anxiety or depression as those who stay under 4 hours. cdc.gov 

2. Nearly half of U.S. teens (48 %) say social media is mostly negative for their age group, and almost as many admit they spend too much time on it. 44 % are already cutting back to protect their wellbeing. Pew Research Center, Apr 2025

3. Almost half of Gen Z (46 %) say social media makes them feel lonely or inadequate. www2.deloitte.com

4. The average adult globally now spends 6 hours 38 minutes online every single day — that’s nearly one full waking day every week on screens. datareportal.com

5. Roughly 1 in 3 U.S. adults report feeling lonely and a lack of meaningful connections, (which is increasingly blamed in part on digital media replacing in-person interaction,) a level the CDC links to an emerging public health epidemic. cdc.gov

6. A nine-year study following nearly 7,000 adults found that both passive scrolling and active posting on social media led to increased loneliness over time—neither form of engagement relieved isolation (Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin, 2024). news.web.baylor.edu

7. Nearly half of U.S. teens (46 %) say their parent is often or sometimes distracted by a phone when the teen is trying to talk to them. pewresearch.org

8. In a four-year JAMA study of 4,300 U.S. children (ages 9–10 at start), 40 % developed addictive screen habits—and those kids were 2 – 3 times more likely to have suicidal thoughts or behaviors than peers with low addictive use. jamanetwork.com