For years, the default question about teenagers and social media has been how much time they spend on it. That number is easy to measure. It tells us far less about whether a teenager is talking with friends, finding community, learning something new or getting pulled into a feed designed to keep them scrolling.
New Jersey wants a better answer.
Rutgers University has been selected to operate the state's new Social Media Research Center, supported by a $500,000 grant from the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education. Announced October 19, the center will study how young people's online experiences relate to mental and physical health, including sleep and emotional well-being.
Established as part of legislation signed by Governor Mikie Sherrill in August, the center will focus on assessment, intervention and prevention. Researchers will identify risks, test strategies for reducing harmful or compulsive use, and examine whether warning labels and other notices on social platforms actually change behavior.
Researchers also plan to build what Rutgers describes as the first state-level longitudinal dataset tracking changes in young people's social media habits and experiences over time. Unlike a one-time survey, that approach could help researchers understand how online behavior evolves and how those changes relate to health.
The center will be led by Rutgers psychologist Jessica L. Hamilton, alongside faculty co-directors Jeffrey Lane and Vivien Wen Li Anthony. It will also develop free online courses and training modules for New Jersey schools, along with resources and workshops for families, educators and health professionals.
There is already reason to look more closely. A 2025 Rutgers-led survey found that more than four in ten New Jersey teenagers reported spending at least four hours a day on social media. Sleep, attention and physical activity were among the concerns raised by parents and teens. But the amount of time alone cannot reveal which online experiences are most consequential.
That is the distinction at the heart of New Jersey's initiative. A private conversation with a friend and an endless recommendation feed both count as screen time. Understanding how they differ, and which interventions actually work, could give families, schools and lawmakers something more useful than another warning to put the phone down.
SOURCE REFERENCES
Rutgers University. "Rutgers Selected to Lead New Jersey Social Media Research Center." October 19, 2026.
https://www.rutgers.edu/news/rutgers-selected-lead-new-jersey-social-media-research-center
Office of Governor Mikie Sherrill. "Governor Sherrill, Secretary Chaly Announce Home for New Social Media Research Center at Rutgers." October 19, 2026.
Center details and findings attributed to the Rutgers and New Jersey materials cited in SOURCE REFERENCES. Cultural framing is RMN's.