Jul 1, 2026 · 33 min · 9 segments
In this episode of Healthy Dialogue, host Derek Angus, MD, MPH sits down with Dimitri Christakis, MD, MPH, to discuss whether social media use disorder is a real phenomenon, the mechanisms behind it…
Dimitri ChristakisGuest
Derek AngusHost
That's based on research that we've done and that others have corroborated.
So no one can look at that statistic and think for a second that that's a healthy behavior.
use, overuse, or even abuse has become a growing issue, particularly for children and adolescents.
It's been a hot topic of discussion for years, but arguably it has now reached a crossroads.
Hi, I'm Derek Angus, a physician and senior editor at JAMA, and you're listening to Healthy Dialogue, a new podcast from the JAMA Network.
In a landmark ruling this year, a California jury awarded a young woman $6 million from Google and Meta, saying the companies deliberately designed their apps, YouTube and Instagram, to be addictive, leading to complex mental health issues.
So how widespread is this problem? In 2024, the US Surgeon General at the time, Vivek Murthy, wrote an op-ed in the New York Times calling for social media warning labels, a bit like tobacco warning labels.
Many recent studies have highlighted the risks of too much social media use, and some countries are even restricting access altogether to children and teens.
So today I'm talking with Dr. Dimitri Christakis, a pediatrician at Seattle Children's Hospital, professor in the School of Medicine at the University of Washington, and the editor-in-chief of JAMA Pediatrics.
Is social media use disorder a real phenomenon? And if so, how does it work? What are the impacts? And why is it especially worrisome for kids and teens? Welcome, Dimitri.
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That's based on research that we've done and that others have corroborated.
So no one can look at that statistic and think for a second that that's a healthy behavior.
use, overuse, or even abuse has become a growing issue, particularly for children and adolescents.
It's been a hot topic of discussion for years, but arguably it has now reached a crossroads.
Hi, I'm Derek Angus, a physician and senior editor at JAMA, and you're listening to Healthy Dialogue, a new podcast from the JAMA Network.
In a landmark ruling this year, a California jury awarded a young woman $6 million from Google and Meta, saying the companies deliberately designed their apps, YouTube and Instagram, to be addictive, leading to complex mental health issues.
So how widespread is this problem? In 2024, the US Surgeon General at the time, Vivek Murthy, wrote an op-ed in the New York Times calling for social media warning labels, a bit like tobacco warning labels.
Many recent studies have highlighted the risks of too much social media use, and some countries are even restricting access altogether to children and teens.
So today I'm talking with Dr. Dimitri Christakis, a pediatrician at Seattle Children's Hospital, professor in the School of Medicine at the University of Washington, and the editor-in-chief of JAMA Pediatrics.
Is social media use disorder a real phenomenon? And if so, how does it work? What are the impacts? And why is it especially worrisome for kids and teens? Welcome, Dimitri.