Candice Odgers, a psychologist who has studied teen mental health for 25 years, argues that social media plays a smaller causal role in teen depression than most people think — and that depressed teens are more likely to seek out social media rather than social media causing the depression. This matters because it shifts focus away from blanket social media bans toward addressing underlying mental health issues like the pandemic's lingering effects and family stress. However, other recent research suggests the relationship is more bidirectional — while depression may drive social media use, heavy use also correlates with worse mental health outcomes in teen girls — making this a genuinely contested area rather than a settled question.