Study: Heavy social media use can hurt teens' mental health

A new study suggests that social media use may harm teenagers' mental health by increasing exposure to bullying and reducing sleep and exercise time.

Scientists conducted multiple interviews with almost 10,000 teenagers in England between the ages of 13 and 16.

The teens reported the frequency with which they checked or used social media. More than three times daily was considered very frequent.

The researchers found that, in both sexes, very frequent social media use was associated with greater psychological distress.

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But the results indicated that social media itself really isn't the problem. Instead, it's "frequent" social media use that exposes young people to more harmful content.

It also can get in the way of activities that have a positive impact on mental health, like sleeping and exercising.

The research was published Tuesday in the journal The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health.

CNN