NHMRC Ideas Grants Funding Success

Dr Nandi Vijayakumar, Deakin’s SEED Centre for Lifespan Research within the Faculty of Health.

Social media is a central aspect of adolescent life, with most young Australians spending 2-3 hours daily on social media platforms. While these channels can support social connection and self-expression, its rapid proliferation over the past decade has coincided with a sharp rise in common mental health problems like depression and anxiety.

With Australia’s recently enacted social media ban for under-16s, the policy has created conditions resembling a controlled intervention to reduce social media use.

The research team led by Dr Vijayakumar will use this rare ‘natural experiment’ to establish causal effects in this area and advance understanding of the impact of social media use on mental health.

Findings will inform evidence-based strategies for policymakers, health professionals, educators and parents on whether restricting under-16s from these platforms truly can mitigate mental health risks, or whether alternative strategies are needed.

The project team includes fellow Deakin researchers Dr Sharon Horwood, Associate Professor Jeromy Anglim, Dr Hannah Jarman and Professor Matthew Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, alongside Susan Ellul, Dr Ghazaleh Dashti, Dr Monika Raniti and Professor Susan Sawyer from the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Professor Nicholas Allen from University of Oregon and Associate Professor Siân McLean from La Trobe University.

Story reposted from Deakin Media.