Study: 45% of Teens Say Social Media Hurts Their Sleep (Pew 2025)
In a Pew survey of 1,391 US teens, 45% say social media hurts their sleep — 50% of girls and 40% of boys — while teens need 8 to 10 hours a night.
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In a Pew survey of 1,391 US teens, 45% say social media hurts their sleep — 50% of girls and 40% of boys — while teens need 8 to 10 hours a night.
Nearly half of US teens say social media is cutting into their sleep. In a Pew Research Center survey of 1,391 US teens ages 13 to 17, 45% said social media hurts the amount of sleep they get. Only about one in ten said it helps. The rest said it neither helps nor hurts.
The gap is wider for girls. Half of teen girls (50%) said social media hurts their sleep, compared with 40% of teen boys. Girls were also more likely to say it hurts their mental health (25% vs. 14%) and their confidence (20% vs. 10%).
Teens are also growing more negative about social media in general. Nearly half (48%) said it has a mostly negative effect on people their age, up from 32% in 2022. And 45% said they spend too much time on social media, up from 36% in 2022.
That matters because sleep is not optional for teens. The CDC says adolescents aged 13 to 18 need 8 to 10 hours of sleep a night, and that enough sleep supports mental health, attention, behaviour and readiness to learn. For what that means at each age, see how much sleep a 14-year-old needs. Late-night scrolling shrinks that window, and a tired teen finds mood, focus and school harder the next day.
It is not all bad news. Most teens (74%) said social media helps them feel more connected to their friends, and 63% said it gives them a place to show their creative side. The goal is not to ban the apps. It is to protect the last hour before bed.
What can parents do? Agree on a phone-free hour before bed, charge phones outside the bedroom overnight, and keep a regular bedtime, even on weekends. The CDC suggests exactly these steps. Small rules, kept most nights, beat one big talk about screen time. And if your teen's online world sounds like another language, our slang guides can help translate.