JIMplus Study 2026According to Teens, Social Media Use Is Both an Inspiration and a Burden

Social media plays a central role in digital well-being—especially YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat. Using these platforms is currently the most widespread online activity among young people. At the same time, their perception of these platforms is significantly more ambivalent than that of other digital leisure activities: listening to music, for example, is predominantly associated with positive feelings and often serves as a strategy for coping with stress. Social media, on the other hand, is experienced by young people as a constant interplay between positive and stressful experiences. This is particularly evident among girls: They use social media more frequently than boys, but at the same time report feeling pressure to compare themselves to others more often and are significantly more likely to say they feel uncomfortable in their own bodies.

How do adolescents deal with problematic content on social media?

For many adolescents, exposure to problematic content is part of their digital lives. Most frequently, they encounter fake news (71%), extreme political or religious content (43%), and hate speech (40%). Unwanted nude images, bullying, graphic depictions of violence, and content that trivializes eating disorders or self-harming behavior are perceived as particularly distressing. Compared to other social media platforms, TikTok is most frequently associated with problematic content by young people.

Most young people respond to such content by scrolling past it. About one-third say they have become accustomed to the abundance of problematic content on social media. Only about a quarter report problematic posts to the platforms. At the same time, adolescents who have already been exposed to certain types of problematic content tend to report lower levels of personal well-being.

TikTok’s standing is also striking in another respect: Although the platform receives the most critical ratings compared to other services, it ranks second among the services that young people would miss the most (and even first among girls). Furthermore, TikTok has the highest proportion of users—13 percent—who use the platform very intensively (more than three hours a day).

Family and friendships remain the most important resources

Social relationships play a central role in personal well-being. Young people experience the highest levels of satisfaction during activities with friends. Strong family ties are also associated with greater well-being. When facing worries or stress, young people turn primarily to conversations with trusted individuals, in addition to music. Interaction with AI chatbots, on the other hand, has so far played only a minor role. Twelve percent of young people use this option when they are feeling stressed.

The results of the JIMplus study show that young people do not use digital media without being aware of their downsides; rather, they are conscious of these issues. For example , about half of those surveyed envy the generations that grew up without social media. Girls (52%) agree with this statement significantly more often than boys (42%).

When it comes to age limits, they take a nuanced stance: More than half are skeptical of a ban because they doubt its effectiveness. At the same time, 43 percent believe that social media should be banned for everyone under a certain age. It is particularly telling that, in hindsight, the majority of platform users would recommend a higher minimum age than the one they themselves had when they first started using social media. In the context of the current debate on bans, fewer than ten percent feel that the perspectives of young people are being sufficiently taken into account.