A standard number used by public agencies. It is not the price of a person.
Evidence range $7M to $14M ·
An open cost model | United States | Since 2009
What is social media costing us?
Lives cut short. Years with depression. Medical bills. Missed work.
Estimated cost under these settings $2,355,067,000,000 Click the total to test every numberThis setting includes about 8,910 deaths and 30 million years lived with depression.
This estimate combines published research. It cannot prove cause. Change any number below and the total changes with it.
Build your estimate or start with a preset.
Model inputs
Nine estimates you can change
Move any slider. Each number shows a published low and high value, plus its source.
Each normal curve is a visual guide to that range. It does not show the odds of any value.
- Choose a studyStart from a published finding or the labeled opening value.
- Adjust the valueThe calculator keeps the study visible when you move its slider.
- Watch the estimateThe formula, component, and total change together.
01
Lives lost
Estimates the public cost of deaths that happened earlier than expected.
$13.7M
Change in deaths represented in the mortality component.
Evidence range 30K to 70K deaths ·
This is a working estimate. No study measured this share directly.
Evidence range 7% to 30% ·
02
Mental health
Estimates the cost of years lived with depression.
The number of people included in this estimate.
Evidence range 2M to 8M ·
The average number of years each person is affected.
Evidence range 3 to 8 years ·
The average loss during each affected year.
Evidence range 30% to 50% ·
03
Economic effects
Counts direct care and lost productivity over time.
Extra spending on treatment and care.
Evidence range $6.5K to $12K ·
Lost income from missed work and reduced hours.
Evidence range $4K to $10K ·
Years in which care and productivity effects are counted.
Evidence range 0.25 to 6.8 years ·
Interpretation
See which choices change the answer
$2.4T estimated cost
Use this total to compare different sets of numbers. The result cannot prove cause or describe one person's experience.
Method & sources
See how the estimate works
The calculator adds the cost of lives lost, years lived with depression, healthcare, and missed work. You can change every part.
Limitations
What this estimate cannot tell us
- A study can find a link without proving the same cause for every person.
- We cannot directly observe what would have happened without social media.
- Costs overlap, vary across populations, and should not be interpreted as a clinical diagnosis.
Evidence index
What this calculator can support
The output is an illustrative cumulative estimate for the United States since 2009. It combines editable assumptions about lives lost, years with depression, healthcare spending, and missed work.
Each paper's reported finding stays separate from the value mapped into the calculator. Open a source, inspect the finding, then change the model value to see its effect.
- Government valuationPublic value used for one lifeEvidence role: agency guidance | Model mapping: direct central estimate
- National trend estimateExcess deaths since 2009Evidence role: national surveillance | Model mapping: opening model value
- Exposure studyShare social media may have causedEvidence role: rollout comparison | Model mapping: published change
- Population estimatePeople whose depression may be linkedEvidence role: longitudinal study | Model mapping: original synthesis
- Disease burdenYears affected by depressionEvidence role: global burden estimate | Model mapping: original model value
- Health utilityLoss in quality of lifeEvidence role: quality-of-life study | Model mapping: lower end of the reported range
- Care costYearly healthcare cost per personEvidence role: economic estimate | Model mapping: reported value rounded to the slider step
- Work lossYearly work loss per personEvidence role: workplace burden study | Model mapping: original per-person value
- Duration estimateAverage duration of economic costsEvidence role: treatment duration study | Model mapping: reported average
What surveys show
What changed around 2012?
Around 2012, more teenagers began reporting serious sadness and other mental health problems. Smartphones and social media also became a bigger part of daily life.
These changes happened at about the same time. That does not prove that one caused the other. Researchers need careful comparisons to test possible causes.
Researchers use several checks to study the change.
- 01
Check more than one survey.
A real change should appear in several trusted sources. One chart is not enough.
- 02
Compare similar groups.
Researchers compare people who got access earlier with similar people who got access later.
- 03
Test every guess.
Change each assumption and see how much the final estimate moves.
Primary evidence
- SAMHSA · National Survey on Drug Use and Health · 2004 to 2021
- CDC · Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System
- Braghieri, Levy & Makarin · American Economic Review · 2022
- Allcott et al. · American Economic Review · 2020
This calculator does not give a final verdict. It shows the choices behind the estimate so you can test them yourself.
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