Funding outcome

About 30-40% of Canadian youth use social media daily, posting content and receiving feedback like 'likes' and 'dislikes.' While social media can help young people connect with peers, it is also linked to mental health challenges such as depression. However, not all young people are affected the same way: some struggle while others do well. This research asks why. We will study 100 children and adolescents aged 10-16 who actively use social media. First, we will measure their brain activity while they receive positive and negative feedback in a computer task designed to feel like a real social media experience. We will also ask about their recent social media activity and their mood. A year later, we will check in again to see how their mood has changed. We expect that young people whose brains respond more strongly to positive feedback will benefit more from receiving 'likes' on social media, meaning better mood over time. Young people with weaker brain responses may not experience these benefits, which could help explain why some children struggle with social media while others do not. Understanding how individual brain differences shape young people's responses to social media can help parents, teachers, and health professionals identify which children may need extra support, and provide that support before problems develop.