Developing a strategic plan for a climate-resilient health system in Iran.

Social media is now a fundamental part of everyone’s daily lives, particularly among adolescents []. Nearly 95% of adolescents use at least one social networking site, with 45% reporting they are online ‘almost consistently’ []. An Indian study also shows that almost 90% of adolescents have either a moderate or high level of social media addiction []. This constant exposure to the digital sphere makes it a critical public health concern. The unregulated content of social media has a huge impact on the impressionable minds of teenagers. Numerous studies have linked excessive social media use among adolescents to a range of adverse outcomes, including alcohol abuse, disrupted family relationships, and risky sexual behaviours [–]. Early alcohol use among teenagers is associated with serious consequences, such as self-harm, aggression, and academic failure, with global DALYs for adolescent alcohol use coming to 2.80 billion in 2023 []. Also, Child-family relationships are adversely affected due to the time spent on social media by adolescents. There may be family disconnectedness, conflicts, lack of direct open communication, absence of cohesion, etc []. Exposure to sexualized content also poses risks; approximately 74.2% of the adolescents reported high or very high exposure to sexual content on social media that influences their sexual behaviour. Studies have found a link between media exposure and early initiation of sexual activity, which can lead to unintended pregnancies and increased vulnerability to sexually transmitted infections (STIs) []. While substantial research has been conducted in high-income countries to understand the relationship between social media use and adolescent behaviour, there is a growing need to explore these patterns in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) like India, with an explosion of digital devices in a few years and a lack of school-based digital literacy programs. This demands culturally relevant, evidence-based interventions that can be easily implemented in a school curriculum.