A student sits across from an advisor, struggling to explain why concentration feels difficult in class. Another tells a counselor they feel constantly compared, judged and exhausted, yet cannot put their phone down. A residence hall director notices students isolated in their rooms, connected online disconnected from the people next door.

These are not isolated incidents. Campus professionals across Illinois are seeing, and digital well-being is at the center of them.

Social media and student mental health: a public health issue

In 2023, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued an advisory on social media and youth mental health, calling it an urgent national health concern. The advisory describes both the potential benefits of social media and the mounting evidence of harm, particularly around anxiety, depression, body image and sleep disruption.

This matters for Illinois campuses because the students most affected by that harm are now in classrooms, counseling centers and advising offices. Understanding the landscape is the first step toward responding effectively.

What research says about social media use

The relationship between social media and mental health is complex. Not all use is harmful, and some students benefit from online community and connection. However, research consistently identifies several patterns of concern.

Passive scrolling is riskier than active engagement. Students who consume content without interacting, watching others’ highlight reels without contributing their own, report higher rates of social comparison, loneliness and low self-worth. In contrast, students who use platforms to communicate or create tend to report fewer negative effects.

Nighttime use disrupts sleep in ways that compound other mental health challenges. The ICC TAC’s existing blog on sleep quality among college students highlights how sleep disruption accelerates anxiety and depression. Social media use after midnight, which is common among traditional-age college students, is a significant contributing factor.

Algorithmic content can escalate distress. Students who search for content related to anxiety, body image or emotional pain are frequently served more of the same by platform algorithms, creating feedback loops that are difficult to exit without intentional intervention.

The impact is not equal across student populations. Students with existing mental health vulnerabilities, those experiencing social isolation, and students from marginalized communities who encounter harassment or hate speech online face heightened risk. This intersects directly with ICC TAC’s focus on culturally responsive mental health support.

How campus professionals can respond

The goal is not to tell students to log off. It is to equip campus professionals with the awareness and language to bring these conversations into the support they already provide.

Normalize the conversation in existing interactions. Advisors, faculty and student affairs staff do not need to become social media experts. They do need to feel comfortable asking questions like, “How are you spending your time when you are not in class?” or “Have you noticed social media affecting your mood or sleep?” The RADical Health Program, listed in the ICC TAC resource library (LINK), emphasizes exactly this kind of proactive skill-building with young adults before they reach a crisis point.

Know when to refer. Digital habits often intersect with anxiety, depression or disordered eating. Campus professionals who recognize the connection are better positioned to refer students to counseling services with relevant context rather than treating symptoms in isolation. Illinois Doc Assist (LINK), a program aligned with the ICC TAC’s mission, offers same-day consultations with board-certified psychiatrists and social workers for clinicians working with students under 21, and can support providers navigating complex presentations that involve social media’s role in a student’s distress.

Incorporate digital well-being into existing programming. Campuses already running peer support programs, wellness workshops or new student orientation have a natural opportunity to address digital well-being without creating new infrastructure. The M2 Peer Mentor Program Training Manual, available through the ICC TAC resource library (LINK INSTEAD), provides a ready-made framework that campus teams can adapt to include conversations about healthy technology use.

Model healthy behavior. Faculty and staff set the tone. Modeling healthy boundaries around technology use, including not expecting immediate email responses from students at all hours, contributes to a broader campus culture that supports well-being.

A policy conversation for higher education

Several states and school districts have adopted formal policies limiting smartphone use in K-12. Higher education has been slower to engage with this conversation, in part because of the academic freedom and autonomy principles that define campus culture.

Still, colleges and universities can examine how campus norms may contribute to digital stress. Areas to review include:

• Course designs that require constant online engagement
• Expectations for after-hours communication
• Use of platforms with algorithm-driven feeds for coursework

These factors can influence student well-being more than intended.

The ICC TAC’s Statewide Standards and Best Practices Committee is well-positioned to consider how digital well-being intersects with existing mental health policy frameworks under the MHEAC Act.

A starting point for your campus

Supporting digital well-being does not require a new office or a new initiative. It requires campus professionals who understand the issue, feel confident raising it and know where to point students when they need more support.

The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on Social Media and Youth Mental Health is available as a PDF through the ICC TAC resource library and is a practical starting point for faculty, staff and administrators who want to get grounded in the evidence. The ICC TAC also offers free Mental Health First Aid training for Illinois higher education professionals, which builds the broader skill set needed to respond to students in distress, whatever the source.

To explore the full ICC TAC resource library, visit icctac.org/resources. To register for free Mental Health First Aid training, visit icctac.org/trainings. If a student is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.