Young people, ADHD, and social media: The doomscroll dilemma

Do you ever struggle to control your social media habits? If so, you’re not alone. Social media platforms are designed to be addictive. Whether you spend hours doomscrolling or find yourself seriously craving likes and comments, too much time on social media can negatively impact your well-being in many ways. 

Anyone can develop an unhealthy relationship with social media. But research shows a connection between young people with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and heavy social media use. Recently, the U.S. surgeon general released a new advisory on the effects of social media on youth mental health. 

So if you’re a parent, educator, or another caring adult and you’re concerned about how social media is impacting a young person in your life, there are things you can do to help. With the right support, children and teens with ADHD can bring more balance to their social media use. 

How does social media impact ADHD?

In many ways, technology is evolving faster than we can study it. So we don’t yet fully understand whether ADHD leads to unhealthy social media use, or vice versa. However, there’s evidence to suggest that having ADHD could make it harder for a young person to manage their use of social media. This might be because of differences in their brains, which cause them to crave more dopamine rewards and struggle with time management. 

Of course, most of us can understand the flood of positive feelings that can come from receiving likes and comments. You can probably also relate to how quickly time flies by when you’re scrolling. But keep in mind that these experiences are often more pronounced for people with ADHD because of how their brains are wired.

In addition to these biological and behavioral factors, the way social media platforms are designed may also make ADHD symptoms worse. For example, some people with ADHD are prone to hyperfocus or hyperfixation. This means they can tune out anything other than a specific activity, task, or interest for hours on end. When you bring a tendency to hyperfixate to a platform whose algorithm is designed to take you further down the rabbit hole, it can feel almost impossible to stop scrolling. 

Six social media tips for young people with ADHD

There are a variety of potential health consequences of unhealthy social media use for young people with ADHD. A review of recent research suggests that it can increase the risk of depression, anxiety, cyberbullying, addiction, and other high-risk behaviors. 

So if there’s a young person in your life who’s struggling with their social media use, the following tips can help them create healthier habits.

1. Take a break. Encourage young people to take regular breaks from social media. This could be from a few hours to a few weeks. Taking screen breaks is something you can do as a family or as a class, and modeling the behavior can help reinforce it. 
2. Check the purpose. Before signing on to a social media app, tell young people to ask themselves what they want to experience while they’re on it. For example, do they want to learn something new? Connect with a friend? Laugh at some funny videos? Having an intended purpose in mind can help them set boundaries around their behavior.
3. Know the triggers. Ask young people to think about when they feel most compelled to spend lots of time on social media. Perhaps it’s when they’re stressed or if there’s conflict at home or with friends. Helping them recognize how they’re using social media to cope with uncomfortable emotions may provide an opportunity to brainstorm alternative strategies. Ask them to consider other things they can do to manage challenging feelings.
4. Audit the feed. Remind young people that there are things they can do to shape their experience on social media platforms. If accounts or creators share content that makes them feel uncomfortable or causes distress, empower them to unfollow them. Challenge them to only follow accounts that leave them inspired or positively affected.
5. Disable notifications. When a phone or other device makes noises or sends alerts that say, “Hey, look at me!” it can be hard to resist. But simply adjusting the device’s settings can help eliminate distractions and reduce the temptation to sign on to social media. 
6. Ask for help. If you’re concerned that a young person in your life might be becoming addicted to social media, help is available. A therapist can help them learn to regulate their behavior and develop strategies for addressing the emotions and impulses that may be contributing to their social media use.

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Social media can be a wonderful thing. It can provide opportunities to learn new things, be entertained, and connect with people from all over the world. At the same time, social media can be addictive, and too much of it can negatively affect a person’s health and well-being in a variety of ways. 

This problem may be especially pronounced for young people with ADHD due to how their brains are wired. But fortunately, with help from a mental health professional, people of all ages can reshape their relationship with technology. 

At Rula, we’re committed to making it easier to access affordable, in-network mental healthcare no matter the challenge you’re facing. When you need support, we invite you to explore our therapist-matching program. In just a few clicks, you can find the right provider for your needs and schedule your first appointment for as soon as tomorrow.

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