Designing Social Media Health Warnings for Teenagers and Young Adults: A Randomized Clinical Trial.
JAMA Health ForumSep 4, 2026 (epub)
Anna H Grummon, Clayton Ulm, Amanda B Zeitlin et al.
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In 30 seconds
This randomized clinical trial assessed the effectiveness of health warnings on social media in discouraging use and increasing harm awareness among US teenagers and young adults aged 13 to 29. The study found that participants perceived all health warnings as more effective than a neutral control message, with average differential effects ranging from 0.32 to 0.62 for discouragement and 0.19 to 0.63 for harm awareness.
Key findings
- Participants rated health warnings as more effective than the control message, with ADEs ranging from 0.32 to 0.62.
- All health warnings increased awareness of social media harms more than the control message, with ADEs from 0.19 to 0.63.
- Health warnings were perceived as more effective than the screen time break warning, except for addiction warnings.
Why it matters
Understanding the impact of health warnings on social media can inform public health strategies aimed at reducing negative health outcomes among young users, such as depression and anxiety.