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More than half of American college students are experiencing loneliness, and those who spend the most time on social media are particularly vulnerable to feeling isolated, according to a sweeping new study of nearly 65,000 young adults.
The findings, published in the Journal of American College Health, reveal that spending as few as 16 hours a week on social media — roughly two hours a day — is associated with significantly higher odds of loneliness among students aged 18 to 24.
Researchers analyzed survey data from 64,988 students across more than 120 colleges nationwide, measuring loneliness through self-reported feelings of isolation, lack of companionship and feeling left out.
Fifty-four percent of students surveyed said they were lonely — a figure consistent with other recent national research. Female and Black students reported particularly high rates of loneliness. Students living on campus fared better than those who lived at home, while members of fraternities and sororities were among the least lonely, likely due to the social opportunities those organizations provide.
The data revealed a striking dose-response relationship between social media use and loneliness. Students who used social media 16 to 20 hours a week were 19 percent more likely to report feeling lonely compared to those who didn't use it at all. That figure climbed to 23 percent for those spending 21 to 25 hours weekly, 34 percent for 26 to 30 hours, and 38 percent among the heaviest users — those logging at least 30 hours a week online.
About 13 percent of students in the study fell into that excessive-use category.
"These results underscore how widespread loneliness is among college students and highlight that excessive social media use may be replacing the meaningful interactions that protect their mental health," said Dr. Ashley L. Merianos, a senior author of the paper and researcher at the University of Cincinnati.
