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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesSocial media can help people stay connected, but it does not have one uniform effect on communication skills. Adolescent research points to potential benefits for peer relationships and identity development alongside risks such as cyberbullying, social comparison, and losing opportunities to practise reciprocal, face-to-face interaction. The effects depend on who is using it, how and why they use it, what they encounter, and whether online communication supplements or displaces in-person contact.
What counts as a communication skill?
Communication is broader than empathy. It can include listening, reading social cues, expressing ideas, resolving disagreements, and maintaining relationships. The available studies measure only parts of that picture: one recent meta-analysis examined adolescent empathy, while another review considered psychosocial development. Neither establishes how social media affects every verbal, nonverbal, or relationship skill.
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It also matters whether a study measures time spent, frequency of use, or the purpose of an interaction. Messaging a friend for support is not the same experience as passively comparing oneself with posts, and a finding about one outcome should not be treated as a finding about all communication.
What does the evidence say about social media and communication?
A small association with adolescent empathy
A systematic review and meta-analysis by Tully and colleagues, first published January 5, 2026, included 15 articles; 13 studies with 10,015 adolescents were included in the meta-analysis. Participants had a mean age of 16.75. Greater social-media use was associated with slightly higher total empathy (r = 0.057), but its separate associations with affective empathy and cognitive empathy were not statistically significant. This is a small association, not evidence that social media caused higher empathy—and empathy is only one component of communication. Read the study in the Journal of Adolescence.
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Benefits and risks in adolescent development
A 2023 systematic review of 20 studies published from 2008 to 2019 described a complex relationship between social media and adolescent psychosocial development. It identified potential support for identity development and maintaining existing peer relationships. It also identified concerns around excessive or problematic use, social comparison, and cyberbullying. Peer and parental support may help buffer negative effects, but the review called for stronger research, including longer-term studies and perspectives from the global South. Read the review in the South African Journal of Psychology.
These findings are not a universal verdict. The American Psychological Association (APA) says social media is not inherently beneficial or harmful for young people; effects vary with adolescents’ characteristics and circumstances, what they encounter, and platform features. The APA specifically cautions against use that restricts opportunities to practise reciprocal in-person interaction or encourages avoidance of it. Read the APA’s adolescent social-media health advisory.
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Can social media make face-to-face conversation harder?
The cited evidence does not establish that social media generally makes people worse at talking face to face. The more specific concern is displacement: if online activity reduces opportunities to practise reciprocal, in-person interaction, young people may have fewer chances to build and use those skills face to face. The APA identifies protecting those opportunities as important; that advisory is a recommendation, not proof of a single inevitable outcome for every user.
Online contact can also maintain friendships and provide social support. Whether it complements or crowds out in-person connection depends on the user and circumstances. The adolescent evidence reviewed here does not establish equivalent effects for adults, nor does it settle long-term causal effects across age groups.
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How can families support healthier communication?
For adolescents, the aim is not simply to maximize or eliminate screen time. Guidance can preserve useful connection while making room for in-person practice and age-appropriate independence.
- Keep conversations open. The APA recommends adult monitoring with ongoing discussion and coaching for most youth in early adolescence, balanced with privacy and increasing autonomy as young people mature.
- Teach social-media literacy. Help young people assess what they encounter online and participate appropriately; the APA recommends developmental tailoring, and the U.S. Surgeon General recommends media-literacy curricula in schools.
- Make space for face-to-face connection. The Surgeon General recommends fostering in-person friendships and creating family media plans and tech-free zones.
- Model the habits you want to encourage. The Surgeon General advises adults to model responsible social-media behavior.
- Notice what a platform is doing for the young person. The APA recommends encouraging uses that support social support, online companionship, and emotional intimacy while preserving opportunities for reciprocal in-person interaction.
These are public-health recommendations, not guarantees that a particular rule will improve communication skills for every adolescent. The Surgeon General’s webpage cites a 2022 estimate that up to 95% of U.S. young people aged 13–17 use a social-media platform; that is not a current prevalence estimate or a measure of communication ability. See the Surgeon General’s youth mental-health advisory.
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