Introduction:
Social media plays a central role in the lives of young people, shaping their identities, relationships, and daily routines. While platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube provide entertainment, connection, and inspiration, they can also contribute to anxiety, depression, and social comparison. Despite this dual impact, social media use is rarely addressed during mental health treatment. This study explores adolescents' experiences and needs regarding social media use and co-develops an intervention aimed at normalizing and integrating social media discussions into therapeutic practice.
Purpose:
The study investigates how adolescents in mental health care experience social media use and how their insights can inform the development of an intervention that embeds these discussions as a standard element of treatment.
Method:
Interactive workshops were conducted with adolescents (aged 16-23) receiving mental health care in the Netherlands. Participants reflected on their social media habits, perceived effects, and preferences for clinician engagement. Thematic analysis was used to identify key experiences and needs, which informed the collaborative design of an intervention concept with the adolescents.
Results:
Participants reported frequent use of multiple social media platforms, primarily for entertainment, distraction, and connection. Negative experiences included emotional withdrawal, comparison, and reduced help-seeking. Adolescents expressed a strong desire for clinicians to acknowledge and discuss their online experiences. Together, they co-created an intervention that embeds structured reflection on social media use within regular treatment, aiming to make such conversations part of care.
Conclusions:
A youth driven, co-created approach offers a practical and scalable way to bridge the gap between adolescents' digital realities and therapeutic support.