A phone full of messages can make staying connected feel effortless, but does that connection provide the support people need? Two studies from Oregon State University suggest that emotional support through social media offers a limited substitute for support from real-life relationships, while checking platforms soon after waking is associated with depression.
The findings put everyday habits under a different kind of spotlight, from the first scroll before breakfast to the people we turn to after a difficult day. They also raise questions that a screen-time total alone cannot answer. Neither study establishes that social media causes mental health problems.
Two studies, one group of adults
Both papers used the same nationally representative sample of 1,512 U.S. adults ages 30 to 70, surveyed in July and August 2023. Funded by the National Institutes of Health, the research examined two separate questions using that shared pool of responses.
The age range matters. Looking at adults across several decades of life broadens the conversation beyond teenagers and their phones, although the findings should not automatically be extended to younger adults or people over 70.
A striking gap in emotional support
The study published August 4 in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, led by Geethika Koneru, compared emotional support from real-life relationships with support through social media. Participants answered similarly worded questions about each source of support, allowing the researchers to examine both alongside loneliness.
Adults in the lowest quarter for real-life emotional support had 8.14 times the adjusted odds of loneliness compared with those in the highest quarter. For social media support, the corresponding figure was 1.45 times the odds, a much smaller association. These are comparisons of statistical odds, so the larger number should not be read as eight times the probability of feeling lonely.
When researchers included both forms of support in one statistical model, only real-life support retained a statistically significant association with loneliness. Online support did not show a statistically significant independent association in that analysis, but this does not establish that every online friendship is unhelpful.
The first 30 minutes after waking
The second paper, published July 28 in the Journal of Prevention, focused on how often participants used social media soon after waking. Researchers assessed depression using the PHQ-9, a nine-item questionnaire, and accounted for total social media use and demographic characteristics.
Frequent use soon after waking was associated with 2.05 times the adjusted odds of depression compared with almost no use during that period. In the model containing both morning use and overall time spent on platforms, only morning use retained a statistically significant association.
“There’s a strong link between using social media within the first 30 minutes after waking and depression,” study leader Hyosin “Dawn” Kim said in the university’s announcement. But the researchers could not determine which came first, the behavior or the depression.
Why the direction of the link matters
Someone experiencing depression might reach for social media upon waking, while using it at that time might also contribute to symptoms. Both directions remain possible, and a survey capturing habits and health during one period cannot settle the sequence.
The same caution applies to the emotional-support findings, which compare people rather than testing what happens when their relationships change. Taken together, these results identify patterns worth investigating, not a demonstrated treatment. They do not establish that waiting until minute 31 to open an app prevents depression.
Making room for meaningful connection
The broader concern predates these papers. The U.S. surgeon general’s 2023 advisory described an epidemic of loneliness and isolation, distinguishing the distress of unmet connection needs from simply having few social contacts. That distinction helps explain why counting messages or followers cannot tell the whole story.
The advisory recommends making time for relationships, contacting friends or family regularly, and limiting distractions during conversations. In everyday terms, that could mean putting the phone away over dinner and giving someone time to finish what they are saying. Those recommendations come from broader public health guidance, not an intervention tested in the two Oregon State studies.
A useful question raised by the findings is whether our digital routines leave enough room for the support we need when life gets difficult. The university’s official announcement about both studies was published September 22, 2026, on the Oregon State University College of Health website.
Photo: Shixart1985 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
