The Negative Impact of Social Media and Smartphones on Gen Z Mental Health

A study by the McKinsey Health Institute has found that social media use is particularly damaging to the mental health of Gen Zers, with one in four connecting spending a lot of time on these platforms with poorer mental health. Gen Zers ranked worst across all categories of health, including mental, physical, social and spiritual. Female Gen Zers were almost twice as likely to report poor mental health when compared with their male counterparts, with a higher portion reporting poor or distorted body image and self-confidence as negative impacts of social media. However, social media was also reported to have positive impacts on self-expression and social connectivity.