In 1972, sociologist and criminologist Stanley Cohen published a book called Folk Devils and Moral Panics, which explored the concept of moral panic: the idea that societies periodically fixate on a newly emerged condition, behaviour, identity or community as being a threat to the public. The fixation is characterized by ‘handwringing’ and calls to action among societal leaders; a particular pattern of media coverage; and experts breaking down the problem and offering diagnoses and solutions. Today, concerns about the impact of digital and social media on children and adolescents are never far from the headlines, but there is growing evidence that this isn’t simply another case of moral panic.
Politicians, religious leaders and others have been speaking out with increasing intensity about how social media harms young people. And a growing volume of scientific literature is exploring the nature and prevalence of those harms, and what might be done about them1,2. One thing that differentiates this case from moral panic is that young people themselves are worried, too.
Work by Turner and her colleagues suggests that nearly half of adolescents think that they are addicted to social media. And now, during that important developmental stage, adolescents are spending more time on digital technology, and in particular on social media. Concerned about how social media might be affecting children and adolescents, governments around the world are attempting to regulate or curtail its use.
Last December, the Australian government implemented a social-media ban for those aged under 16, intended to prevent them from accessing or having accounts on social-media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and X. Numerous European countries, including the United Kingdom, France and Italy, are attempting to follow suit. The situation raises a fundamental question, Telzer says: “How can this social environment potentially be rewiring the developing brain during this really important period when the brain is so sensitive?” From birth, the brain grows rapidly in size and connectivity as children learn and develop and neurons proliferate and form connections called synapses.
But in early childhood, that growth is accompanied by what’s called synaptic pruning, during which neuronal synapses disconnect and are cleared away. At the end of this process, there are around 40% fewer synapses than at the beginning. Neurons also die in a process called apoptosis.
At the same time, the remaining neurons in the brain build up their coat of insulating white matter, or myelin, which is crucial for efficient transmission of electrical impulses. While synaptic pruning is happening, the adolescent brain is maturing one region at a time, and the order of that maturation doesn’t lend itself to calm and rational thought and behaviour. The first region to mature is rich in receptors for the hormone oxytocin — which is important in social bonding — and dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with reward and pleasure.
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