Youth Social Risks
Psychologist Antonio Rial: Problematic Social Media Use Triples Youth Depression, Anxiety Rates
Young people who misuse social media suffer from depression and anxiety at rates three to four times higher than their peers, according to psychologist Antonio Rial from the University of Santiago de Compostela. Rial, who led the largest study of its kind in the world — surveying 100,000 Spanish students — warns that the damage runs far deeper than most parents realize. La Provincia reported his stark warning: 'We worry about the use our children make of technology, when we should be worried about the use technology makes of our children.'
The data behind the warning is alarming. Around 92.5% of Spanish adolescents are active on at least one social network. The average age a child gets their first mobile phone is just 10.8 years. And roughly 6% to 7.7% of students already show signs of addiction or pathological use, according to Levante EMV.
Depression, Anxiety, and a Trap That Works Both Ways
Rial is careful to explain that the link between social media and mental illness is not a simple one-way street. It works in both directions. Teens with emotional gaps — loneliness, low self-esteem, lack of connection at home — are more likely to seek comfort online. But the platforms then make things worse, not better. El Día noted Rial's key finding: 'Those young people with emotional deficiencies have a greater vulnerability' to problematic use.
Once inside this loop, the damage compounds. Platforms are designed to exploit vulnerability through likes, scrolling, and constant feedback. Rial calls the result 'liquid relationships' — shallow, fragile interactions that replace real community bonds. Teens spending more than five hours a day on social media — about 9% on weekdays, rising to 20% on weekends — are most at risk. Rates of suicidal ideation among this group are three times higher than average, according to Diario de Córdoba.
Girls and Boys Face Very Different Risks Online
The harm is not equal across genders. For girls, the biggest threat comes from the 'empire of the like' — a culture of social validation tied to body image and appearance. Rial describes social media as a 'mental shredder' for adolescent girls, according to El Correo Gallego. The pressure of constant comparison and performance online hits girls' mental health harder and faster.
Boys face different traps. They are more likely to fall into gaming addiction and online gambling. Sports betting apps and gaming platforms target adolescent boys through the same addictive mechanisms as social media — variable rewards, social pressure, and endless loops designed to keep them engaged. Both patterns reflect what Rial calls the core problem: platforms built on a 'data economy' that profits from keeping young brains hooked, reported El Periódico Mediterráneo.
Spain Moves to Restrict Access for Under-16s
Spain's government has responded with sweeping legislative action. In February 2026, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced a ban on social media access for children under 16. By April 2026, Congress reactivated the Law for the Protection of Minors in Digital Environments, which will require 'parental controls by default' on all devices sold in Spain. Manufacturers will also be required to add health risk labels to smartphones and tablets — similar to warnings on tobacco products, according to La Opinión de Zamora.
Galicia was already a pioneer in this effort, banning mobile phones in schools at both primary and secondary level — a model Rial helped develop and push to the national level. Tech giants like Meta and TikTok, long resistant to age verification, now face mandatory compliance and significant fines if their systems fall short, noted Información.
Banning Versus Educating: A Real Debate With High Stakes
Not everyone agrees that banning is the answer. Critics argue that blocking under-16s from mainstream platforms will simply push them toward darker, less monitored corners of the internet. Teacher unions support the goals but warn that schools are being asked to deliver 'digital literacy' without the funding or training to do it properly. Some political voices say education, not prohibition, is the right path, according to La Opinión de A Coruña.
Rial acknowledges the tension but holds firm on the core science. The adolescent brain — specifically the prefrontal cortex, which controls impulse and judgment — is not fully developed until the mid-20s. Asking a 12-year-old to resist algorithms designed by billion-dollar companies is, in his view, simply unrealistic. The question Spain is now wrestling with is not whether the harm is real — the data confirms it is — but how fast society is willing to act. Diario de Ibiza reported that 25% of students already report bullying and 10% report cyberbullying as part of their daily online experience.
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