Social media, mental health, and the role of afterschool and summer programs

By Gil G. Noam, Ed.D., Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School and leader of the Institute for the Study of Resilience in Youth (ISRY) at McLean Hospital. This article was originally published by Children's Funding Project on December 10, 2025. It is reposted here with permission. 

For today’s children and adolescents, social media is nearly inescapable. Platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat are not just communication tools—they are arenas where identity, belonging, and self-worth are constantly negotiated. Yet mounting evidence shows that this immersion carries serious mental health costs: higher rates of anxiety, depression, sleep disruption, and harmful social comparison.

The Detrimental Effects of Social Media

While social media can foster connection and creativity, it increasingly correlates with negative developmental outcomes:

• Mental Health Risks: Adolescents who spend more than three hours per day on social media are twice as likely to report symptoms of depression and anxiety (U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory, 2023).
• Sleep and Mood Disruption: Late-night scrolling is linked to poor sleep quality, a major risk factor for mood disorders (National Institutes of Health, 2023).
• Body Image Concerns: Nearly one in three teen girls report worsened body image after using Instagram (National Institutes of Health, 2022).
• Suicidality: Heavy users are twice as likely to experience suicidal thoughts (National Institutes of Health, 2018).

For vulnerable youth, constant exposure to unrealistic comparisons and online pressure can be toxic to well-being. Heavy use of social media is typically (generously) defined as more than three hours a day.

Developmental Resilience: A Bridge Between Education and Mental Health

To counter these effects, the concept of developmental resilience, which I developed with colleagues, offers a powerful framework. Developmental resilience emphasizes that young people can thrive not by avoiding adversity, but by cultivating the strengths, relationships, and coping skills that enable them to adapt and grow through it.

This framework bridges education and mental health:

• Fromeducation, it draws the emphasis on learning, growth, and skill-building.
• Frommental health, it integrates emotional regulation, self-awareness, and coping strategies.
• At its core, it underscores relationships, belonging, and purpose as buffers against the digital and social stressors of modern adolescence.

In this light, after-school and summer programs are not mere add-ons. They are developmental ecosystems where resilience can be intentionally cultivated.

Developmental resilience emphasizes that young people can thrive not by avoiding adversity, but by cultivating the strengths, relationships, and coping skills that enable them to adapt and grow through it.

Why After-School and Summer Programs Are Ideal for Building Resilience

1. Spaces for Healthy Risk-Taking and Passion Learning
   Unlike traditional classrooms, these programs let youth explore interests—sports, art, STEM, service—where they experience mastery and develop positive identity.
2. Trusted Relationships Beyond the Algorithm
   Social media thrives on superficial validation, while caring adult relationships are the strongest protective factor for youth mental health. After-school mentors and summer counselors provide this vital human connection.
3. Safe Havens for Social-Emotional Growth
   After-school and summer programs naturally teach empathy, perseverance, and reflection. The Clover Model of youth development shows how integrating social-emotional support into enrichment activities fosters well-being and resilience.
4. Structured Engagement that Reduces Screen Reliance
   Youth involved in structured programs spend less time on screens and report higher social-emotional health than peers without such opportunities. Replacing idle hours with meaningful engagement reduces exposure to the harmful aspects of digital life.

After-school and summer programs are not mere educational add-ons. They are developmental ecosystems where resilience can be intentionally cultivated.

Research Evidence for Resilience, Learning, and Belonging

A growing body of evidence underscores the power of high-quality after-school and summer experiences:

• Resilience: Youth in after-school programs demonstrate stronger coping and stress-management skills than those not involved (Durlak et al., 2010).
• Passion Learning: “Spark development” research highlighted in Peter Benson’s 2008 book, How Parents Can Help Ignite the Hidden Strengths of Teenagers, shows that discovering passions in nonschool settings builds purpose and shields against depression.
• Relationships: Longitudinal studies from PEAR find that programs emphasizing peer belonging and adult trust foster optimism and reduce social withdrawal.
• Mental Health Mediation: Structured summer programs yield measurable gains in perseverance, optimism, and emotion regulation compared to unstructured environments (National Summer Learning Association, 2022).

A Call to Action

Social media is here to stay—but its risks demand a thoughtful response. After-school and summer programs, grounded in developmental resilience, can function as nonclinical mental health interventions—offering passion, relationships, belonging, and coping tools that help young people navigate life’s challenges.

Yet these critical programs remain underfunded and unevenly accessible. A national coalition I work with—led by Children’s Funding Project and the Afterschool Alliance—is working to change that. Any payouts from ongoing litigation against social media companies for harms inflicted on youth should help fund the evidence-based programs and protective systems families can trust and young people need.

By investing in these programs, we offer children and adolescents not just protection from the toxic effects of social media, but the foundation for lives of resilience, meaning, and growth. Join me in supporting this coalition!

Dr. Gil Noam is a clinical and developmental psychologist trained in Europe and the United States and an associate professor at Harvard Medical School focusing on prevention and resilience. He leads the Institute for the Study of Resilience in Youth at McLean/ Mass General Brigham/ Harvard Medical School. He served as the director of the Risk and Prevention Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and is the founder of PEAR, Partnership in Education and Resilience.

He has published over 200 papers, articles, and books in the areas of child and adolescent development as well as risk and resiliency in clinical, school, and after-school settings. He also served as the editor-in-chief of the journal New Directions for Youth Development: Theory, Practice and Research with a strong focus on out-of-school time.