Instagram found to be disastrous for young people's mental health

Social media site has biggest impact on youngsters, claims new study

Instagram is rated as the worst social media platform when it comes to its impact on young people's mental health, a poll conducted in the UK says.

The poll conducted Royal Society for Public Health (RCPH) asked 1,479 people aged 14-24 a series of questions about whether YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook and Twitter had an impact on their health and well-being, the BBC reported.



Participants were asked to score each platform on 14 health and well-being issues. Based on these ratings, YouTube was considered to have the most positive impact on mental health, followed by Twitter and then Facebook. Snapchat and Instagram were given the lowest scores overall.

The RSPH report warns that "social media may be fuelling a mental health crisis" in young people, reports the publication. It can also be used as a tool for good, the report said, and companies should be doing their best to make platforms a safe place to be.

About 90% of young people use social media - more than any other age group - so they are particularly vulnerable to its effects, although it is not clear what these are on current evidence.

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