Since the advent of social media, researchers are noticing a significant rise in poor mental health. Adolescents and young children are particularly vulnerable to having increased risk of suicide, depression, and anxiety.
Social media companies target younger generations via ads and other features that trigger the pleasure center of the brain.
Research on the addictive nature of social media has led many to recommend limiting or prohibiting the use of social media for children and young adolescents.
Facts About Social Media Use for Children and Adolescents
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Studies show that homes with clear rules and expectations regarding social media use are least likely to endure the negative effects.
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The older an adolescent is before exposure to social access, the more they are able to use it in a proactive, healthy way.
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Users that get on to post or create are less likely to suffer the negative effects than those who use it to pass time.
Activities to Fill Time (Instead of Doom Scrolling)
- Read books
- Play a sport
- Cook
- Go outside
- Be with friends
- Clean
- Create art
- Write
Empowering Young Minds for a Strong Future
Having a strong set of rules does not mean you are taking anything away or punishing your child or adolescent. Instead, it is using the time that would have been spent on social media in other more interactive ways.
Encourage your child or adolescent to play outside, learn a hands-on craft, or simply spend time with you. Families who spend more face-to-face time together are also better able to combat the ill effects of social media use.
You have the power to protect your adolescent from the negative impacts of social media misuse.
Limiting Social Media is Not Just for Kids!
Studies have also shown that parent/guardian behaviors are a good predictor of whether or not a child or adolescent will struggle. Consider these tips in your own use as a way to teach by example.
Sources
- Christian Montag, Zsolt Demetrovics, Jon D. Elhai, Don Grant, Inna Koning, Hans-Jürgen Rumpf, Marcantonio Spada, Melina Tsiouris, Regina van den Eijnden, Problematic social media use in childhood and adolescence, Addictive Behaviors, Volume 153, 2024, 107980, ISSN 0306-4603, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2024.107980.
- Rega, Valeria, Francesca Gioia, and Valentina Boursier. 2023. “Problematic Media Use among Children to the Age of 10: A Systematic Review.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 20, no. 10: 5524. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20105524
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