Social media is one of the greatest sources of sharing trends and spreading information. But what happens when the information becomes toxic and the trends threaten our health? Could social media content be a trigger for substance abuse? Below, we consider the possible correlation between the two.

The History of Substance Abuse in the Media
Let’s take a step back in time. In the early decades of the 1900s, newspapers, magazines, and televisions built what we could view as the foundation of social media. Advertisements and celebrities were all glamorizing a life filled with certain products. What were they glamorizing? Alcohol. Cigarettes. Diet pills. Quaaludes. Even liquid cocaine.
James Dean was famous for his leather jacket and his signature pack of Marlboros. Cigarettes and sleeping tablets called Quaaludes were promoted through television to housewives and mothers. [1] Coca-Cola was known for having actual liquified cocaine in its products. [2]
While the advertisement of harmful products on monetized television has since ceased, the rise in substance abuse certainly has not. The age of social media may have helped in spreading awareness of the dangers of certain products, but it has found its own way to glamorize and promote substance use.
From Instagram posts of a fun night out to music videos of musicians singing about drinks and drugs to online platforms dedicated to the promotion of substance use, the internet is filled with references to potentially harmful substances.
Can Social Media Encourage Substance Use?
As mentioned above, there are countless ways social media users interact with illicit drugs and alcohol. You can’t scroll for long without encountering a post glorifying or aestheticizing drinking and/or drugs. It’s present in our music, movies, TV shows, and Sunday morning posts of the night before.
The aesthetics of substance culture take on many forms, the most socially acceptable of which exists in those post-weekend Instagram posts of a night on the town. It paints drinking and smoking (not necessarily cigarettes) in a glamorous light.
On the other side of the spectrum, we have mental illness and one of its leading causes, drug abuse. The abundance of fan-made edits of popular TV shows such as Euphoria and Skins depicting its teenage characters engaging in all manner of destructive behaviors (like substance abuse) just goes to show how these activities have become accepted by the general public – and our youth. [3]
Peer Pressure in the Digital Age
Let’s be honest: social media is a form of addiction—an addiction motivated by a need for belonging and acceptance among our peers. All we really want is for people to like our posts and, in turn, like us. This need for belonging is a primal instinct that validates our acceptance in our social circles.
When we see people posting about having a good time, whether at clubs, raves, or just at home, we naturally want to partake in these activities to fit in. We see these people whose aesthetics we admire, and we want to recreate these scenes to win over their admiration toward us.
However, if we don’t partake in these popular activities, we can miss out on the social validation we desperately seek, whether we know it or not. Our posts may not get likes from the people we hoped they would, and not getting the social acceptance we desire can lead to feelings of isolation and rejection.
Loneliness is one of the most significant contributors to substance abuse. No matter where you go, the peer pressure of drugs and alcohol follows. This is why it’s important to stay educated on the psychology behind peer pressure and harmful trends on social media. [4]
Trends in Substance Use Among Youth
Like anything discussed in your eighth-grade Life Skills class, it’s easy to brush the dangers associated with social media content aside as overexaggerated. But at the risk of sounding like a broken record, the dangers are real and ever-present.
Let’s look at the statistics. Around 95% of teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17 in the United States use social media websites or apps, and at least a third of this demographic report “almost constant” use of apps like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. As if that weren’t bad enough, despite the age restrictions of social networking apps, 40% of children aged 8 through 12 also regularly engage with social media. [5]
So, what does this mean?
This may indicate a steep decline in parents’ ability to monitor their children’s activities, but it also means that a considerable portion of American youth is exposed to harmful content.
Worse still, the rates of substance abuse among teenagers have risen. Around 86% of American high school students are reported as having personal knowledge of someone who smokes, drinks, or abuses drugs (or all three) during the course of an average school day. 75% of these same teenagers agree that exposure to social media content encourages them to partake in illicit activities. [6]
The simple truth is this: there will always be teenagers who try drugs regardless of the consequences. This is one of the many failures of campaigns and initiatives like the D.A.R.E program – (“Just say no!”) – which could not address the real-life difficulties of avoiding drugs.
The real problems faced by our youth today are exposure and normalization.
Risk Factors Associated with Social Media Use
What we’re seeing with regard to social media and its effects on the average teenager is nothing new, and by now, no one should be surprised to see the term “mental health” appear in the same conversation. While mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety are not intrinsically linked with social media content, it has been found that prolonged use of apps like Facebook and Instagram can increase one’s risk of developing severe mental health concerns.
For example, a study focusing on 12- to 15-year-olds in the United States found that spending three hours per day on social media led to an increased risk of mental health concerns [7]. Teenagers with pre-existing illnesses like depression and anxiety are at an even higher risk of exacerbating their conditions.
Often, the specific risks involved with social media usage depend on the specific uses and duration. Common risk factors include (but are not limited to):
- Sleep issues (i.e., difficulty falling or staying asleep)
- Poor social development (for example, withdrawing from social activities and events)
- Increased risks of developing – or exacerbating – mental health conditions
- Developing unrealistic expectations and standards
- Increased risks of exposure to predators
- Increased risks of substance use disorders
Despite some of its benefits, social media is not always safe. The only way to be safe is to prevent or abstain from using it. Fortunately, there are a handful of practical measures that can mitigate the risks of social media-related substance abuse.
Preventing Social Media-Encouraged Substance Use
Preventing social media-encouraged substance abuse also mitigates other social media-related issues. The advice given here can be applied to any number of social media difficulties.
Discuss the Basics
Internet usage does not come with an instruction manual (but it should). Nevertheless, there are a handful of commonly agreed-upon rules of thumb for staying safe online, and it’s worth going over these with your teen before they log on.
First, remind them to never share personal information over the internet. This includes their name, age, date of birth, phone number, address, bank account number, or passwords.
Second, be firm about what’s okay and what’s acceptable. For example, it’s okay to compliment your friends under one of their posts; it’s not okay to leave hurtful comments.
Third, remind them that the rule of strangers applies online and in person: stranger danger!
Set Rules
As with anything, moderation is key. Set your teen’s expectations by enforcing strict rules regarding their time on social media. For example, this could be a hard limit of an hour or two per day. It’s also worth reminding your teen that other responsibilities come first: eating, sleeping, doing homework, and completing chores.
Set the Example
Nothing inspires teenage rebellion more than the hypocrisy of parents. That may sound like the lyric to an angsty My Chemical Romance number, but it’s true.
With this in mind, limit your social media usage and abide by the same rules you set for your teen. By following a healthy lifestyle, your teen will hopefully try to follow suit.
Monitor Their Activity
While becoming a “helicopter parent” is a worry for many, the reality is that teenagers using social media need all the monitoring they can get to ensure their online time is as safe as possible.
Start by ensuring your teen’s accounts have privacy settings enabled. This will prevent them from accidentally sharing their personal information. Many apps and sites also feature parental settings that can help as well.
Even with these settings enabled, it’s worth checking your teen’s accounts occasionally. The time spent monitoring their activity largely depends on their age and maturity levels. For example, you will probably want to keep a closer eye on your teen during their earlier years than their later ones.
Encourage Real Social Engagement
Lastly, one of the best things you can do for your teen is regularly encouraging them to meet with their friends in person. (This does not include strangers met on social media platforms). Try to organize family outings to get them out of the house and off their phones.
Can Social Media Help to Prevent Substance Abuse?
Social media is a powerful tool whose effects depend on the person using it. This is nothing new, but it’s easy to forget that platforms like Facebook and Instagram once launched with mostly innocent intentions.
While many of the issues symptomatic of social media use are unlikely to be resolved quickly, these platforms can be used to promote healthy behaviors and activities. By offering extensive, science-based research and delivering it in an easily digestible means for the average teenager, social media sites can affect a real and positive change in our youth culture.
- Puckey, M. (2020, November 19). Quaaludes. https://www.drugs.com/illicit/quaaludes.html
- Just Think Twice. (n.d.). Did Coca-Cola Ever Contain Cocaine? | Just Think Twice. Www.justthinktwice.gov. https://www.justthinktwice.gov/article/did-coca-cola-ever-contain-cocaine
- Jackson, K. M., Janssen, T., & Gabrielli, J. (2018). Media/Marketing Influences on Adolescent and Young Adult Substance Abuse. Current Addiction Reports, 5(2), 146–157.https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40429-018-0199-6
- Hosseinbor, M., Yassini Ardekani, S. M., Bakhshani, S., & Bakhshani, S. (2014). Emotional and Social Loneliness in Individuals With and Without Substance Dependence Disorder. International Journal of High Risk Behaviors and Addiction, 3(3). https://brieflands.com/articles/ijhrba-19660.html
- US Department of Health and Human Services. (2023). Social Media and Youth Mental Health: The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37721985/
- National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse XVII: Teens. (2012). https://asfsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/statistics-state.pdf
- Riehm, K. E., Feder, K. A., & Tormohlen, K. N. (2019). Associations between Time Spent Using Social Media and Internalizing and Externalizing Problems among US Youth. JAMA Psychiatry, 76(12), 1266-1273. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2749480
Our Medical Affairs Team is a dedicated group of medical professionals with diverse and extensive clinical experience who actively contribute to the development of our content, products, and services. They meticulously evaluate and review all medical content before publication to ensure it is medically accurate and aligned with current discussions and research developments in mental health. For more information, visit our Editorial Policy.
MentalHealth.com is a health technology company guiding people towards self-understanding and connection. The platform provides reliable resources, accessible services, and nurturing communities. Its purpose is to educate, support, and empower people in their pursuit of well-being.

Michael Quinn is a writer with five years of experience unpacking everything from technology and politics to medicine and telecommunications.
Dr. Brittany Ferri, PhD, is a medical reviewer and subject matter expert in behavioral health, pediatrics, and telehealth.
Our Medical Affairs Team is a dedicated group of medical professionals with diverse and extensive clinical experience who actively contribute to the development of our content, products, and services. They meticulously evaluate and review all medical content before publication to ensure it is medically accurate and aligned with current discussions and research developments in mental health. For more information, visit our Editorial Policy.
MentalHealth.com is a health technology company guiding people towards self-understanding and connection. The platform provides reliable resources, accessible services, and nurturing communities. Its purpose is to educate, support, and empower people in their pursuit of well-being.