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Completed

NCT Number: NCT07199660

Reactions to Social Media Warning Labels Among Teens and Young Adults

The primary objective of this study is to evaluate whether social media warnings are perceived as more effective than control labels among teens and young adults, and to identify the most promising topics for social media warnings for these age groups. A secondary objective is to compare perceived message effectiveness of warnings refined using artificial intelligence (AI) vs. those not refined using AI.

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Key information

Conditions

Screen Time Exposure

Age range

13 year–29 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Stanford School of Medicine

Palo Alto, California, 94304, United States

About this study

Participants will complete a within-subjects online randomized experiment in which they will view and rate messages on the risk of social media use. Participants will view messages about 9 topics: 8 warning topics and 1 control topic. The 8 warning topics include 7 potential mandatory warnings (depression and anxiety, body image, addiction, sleep, mental health harms to children, not been proven safe, and California's proposed warning) and 1 voluntary warning (similar to a message used on TikTok to encourage users to take breaks). For each topic, participants will view 1-2 messages and respond to survey items about that message. All messages will be shown in random order.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Age between 13-29 years
  • Reside in the United States
  • Able to complete a survey in English
  • Access to the internet

Exclusion criteria

  • Younger than 13 or older than 29 years
  • Reside outside of the United States
  • Unable to complete a survey in English
  • Lacks access to the internet

Treatment and study plan

Human-developed negative body image warning

Behavioral

Participants will view a message about the risk of social media use contributing to negative body. The message was developed by humans without using artificial intelligence.

Voluntary warning

Behavioral

Participants will view a message suggesting user take a break from scrolling on social media. The message was developed by humans without using artificial intelligence.

Human-developed depression and anxiety warning

Behavioral

Participants will view a message about the risk of social media use contributing to depression and anxiety. The message was developed by humans without using artificial intelligence.

Human-developed addiction warning

Behavioral

Participants will view a message warning that social media can be addictive. The message was developed by humans without using artificial intelligence.

Human-developed sleep warning

Behavioral

Participants will view a message that social media use can contribute to poor sleep quality. The message was developed by humans without using artificial intelligence.

Human-developed mental health harms to young people warning

Behavioral

Participants will view a message about the risk of social media use contributing to mental health harms for some young people. The message was developed by humans without using artificial intelligence.

Human-developed warning that social media has not been proven safe

Behavioral

Participants will view a message warning that the use of social media has not been proven safe for young people. The message was developed by humans without using artificial intelligence.

Control message

Behavioral

Participants will view a message about encouraging seatbelt use while traveling in a vehicle.

California's proposed social media warning

Behavioral

Participants will view a message warning about the harms of social media use that mirrors the language the state of California has proposed for mandatory social media warnings.

Artificial-intelligence-developed depression and anxiety warning

Behavioral

Participants will view a message about the risk of social media use contributing to depression and anxiety. The message was developed using artificial intelligence.

Artificial-intelligence-developed negative body image warning

Behavioral

Participants will view a message about the risk of social media use contributing to negative body. The message was developed using artificial intelligence

Artificial-intelligence-developed addiction warning

Behavioral

Participants will view a message warning that social media can be addictive. The message was developed using artificial intelligence.

Artificial-intelligence-developed sleep warning

Behavioral

Participants will view a message that social media use can contribute to poor sleep quality. The message was developed using artificial intelligence.

Artificial-intelligence-developed mental health harms to young people warning

Behavioral

Participants will view a message about the risk of social media use contributing to mental health harms for some young people. The message was developed using artificial intelligence.

Artificial-intelligence-developed warning that social media has not been proven safe

Behavioral

Participants will view a message warning that the use of social media has not been proven safe for young people. The message was developed using artificial intelligence.

Primary outcomes

  1. Perceived message effectiveness for discouraging social media use

    Time frame: The survey will measure perceived message effectiveness immediately after participants are exposed to the message.

    The study will assess perceived message effectiveness for discouraging social media use with 1 item: "How much does this message discourage you from wanting to use social media?" Response options will range from "Not at all" (coded as 1) to "A great deal" (coded as 5). Higher scores indicate higher perceived message effectiveness.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Awareness of the harms of social media use

    Time frame: The survey will measure awareness of the harms of social media use immediately after participants are exposed to the message.

    The study will assess awareness of the harms of social media use with 1 item: "How much does this message increase your awareness of the harms of using social media?" Response options will range from "Not at all" (coded as 1) to "A great deal" (coded as 5). Higher scores indicate greater awareness.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Stanford University

Other

Registry information

Official study title

An Evaluation of Social Media Warning Labels for Teens and Young Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Important dates

Study start
2025
Primary completion
2025
Study completion
2025
First posted
Sep 30, 2025
Registry last updated
Mar 16, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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