Social media creates a “serious risk of harm to the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents,” new recommendations from the U.S. Surgeon General reveal, but social media They may also provide social support, a finding that echoes that of experts and parents on Long Island. And teens believe.
Surgeon General Dr. Vivek H. Murthy’s report cites research linking excessive use of social media in children to depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, poor body image and sleep deprivation and warns of the effects on brain development.
From TikTok to Snapchat to Instagram, social media has become central to the lives of American children. The advisory cited research showing that 8th and 10th graders spend an average of 3.5 hours a day on social media, and that more than a third of youth ages 13 to 17 use social media “nearly all the time.” reported using it.
Anthony Anzalone, a clinical psychologist at Stony Brook Medicine, said this kind of “excessive and addictive screen use” can cause serious harm.
“We want kids to experience real-world peer connections,” he said.
What parents can do
The American Psychological Association and Surgeon General Dr. Vivek H. Murthy say parents can help their children have more positive social media experiences. Among their suggestions are:
Social media can help with that, but “the problem arises when social media becomes the primary source of connection,” Anzalone said.
When social media takes away time from sleep and physical activity, it “impacts brain development, and the effects can last into adulthood,” he says.
Leanna Becher, 17, a senior at Paul D. Shriver High School in Port Washington, was using TikTok for hours every day when she was a teenager with a toned body, a well-proportioned nose, and expensive clothes. She said that she often looked at images of young girls and young women. She had a car, a fake tan, lots of friends, and “over time, I felt worthless.”
Becher said her friends felt the same way. “People start hating themselves and hating others,” she said.
Two years ago, she deleted TikTok from her phone and now rarely uses social media.
“I feel much happier and more free,” she said.
“There’s a lot of junk online,” said Dr. Michael Birnbaum, an assistant professor at the Behavioral Sciences Institute at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research in Manhasset and a psychiatrist at Zucker Hillside Hospital in Queens. However, he said: “I believe we have a lot of strengths and we have a lot of potential and potential.”
Birnbaum said children are often afraid to talk to their parents or friends about mental health issues, and may find help online.
“They are lonely and isolated, but social media provides an opportunity to connect with other like-minded people who can provide them with the support they need to grow and thrive.” he said.
The Surgeon General’s report acknowledged the potential benefits, saying social media could be particularly helpful for LGBTQ and racial and ethnic minority youth, who can find “identity-affirming content” It has said.
David Kilmnick, president and CEO of the Hauppauge-based LGBT Network, said social media allows LGBTQ kids to “feel like they’re part of a community and not alone.” Stated.
Liz Gutierrez of Hauppauge, a volunteer with the state’s Latina Mentoring Initiative who gives social media presentations to schools on Long Island, told her 10-year-old daughter that she uses Snapchat to communicate with friends. Use is permitted. But she has installed parental controls that give her access to her phone’s history and limit her use to one hour each day, she said.
“I purposely check her cell phone to see if there is anything suspicious or if strangers are talking to her,” she said.
Anzalone advised parents to “consistently engage in dialogue with their children about what they are using social media for, and to make a real effort to think critically about what is healthy and what is unhealthy.”
Gabby Sorin, 18, a senior at Shriver University, said social media can be harmful, but she has seen a TikTok video offering tips on self-harm techniques, but “people don’t want to talk to people about it.” “We can give them the resources they need.” She volunteers with a nonprofit organization that provides mental health support through her text messages, and says many children find out about the service through TikTok.
But Port Washington Union Free School District Superintendent Michael Hines said he has seen children as young as 7 years old on TikTok “watching adult videos that they shouldn’t be watching.”
He is also concerned about the potential long-term psychological damage from cyberbullying, where “the entire school community can actually see someone being bullied.”
Birnbaum said that while there are many useful resources on social media, “there are algorithms that ensure that sensational videos are seen first, liked the most, and shared the most.”
Birnbaum echoed the report’s conclusions, saying tech companies are encouraged to share data to help researchers better understand social media’s impact on young people and to develop algorithms to highlight more positive, healthy content. He said he has a responsibility to change the
“We have an opportunity to use the same algorithm to promote great content and content that supports kids and gives them what they need right now,” he said. “And that can be really, really powerful.”