This week U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy released an advisory on the pros and cons of social media and its impact on the mental health of America’s adolescents — along with concrete steps that policymakers and parents can take to minimize the harms of too much screen time.
Murthy’s “Social Media and Youth Mental Health” report should be mandatory reading for legislators, researchers, parents and yes, teenagers themselves. It stresses the pervasiveness of social media within the adolescent world, noting that up to 95% of teens ages 13 to 17 report using a social media platform. An even more disturbing statistic: nearly 40% of children between 8 and 12 use social media.
Murthy doesn’t portray social media as some terrible toxin that must be subdued. In fact, he stresses its benefits as a conduit for connection with peers and friends who share interests and identities. It also can provide an avenue for self-expression, and at times even illuminate. Teens report that social media keeps them tethered to what’s happening in their friends’ lives, and makes them feel as if they have people they can turn to during rough patches, Murthy says.
But as the report points out, the downside of social media’s impact on teens is very real and worrisome.
Social media platforms are built to maximize user engagement through a variety of tools, including “likes,” push notifications and algorithms that turn user data into recommendations on which content to view. We all get bombarded by social media’s tricks of the trade, of course, but Murthy’s concern is that the audience includes teens and their developing brains.
Murthy cites data that should raise red flags for parents. A survey done this year by the research group Common Sense found that a third of girls between 11 and 15 said they felt addicted to a social media platform. Nearly one in three teens report being on their screens until midnight or later. And, one survey of eighth and 10th graders found that they spent an average of 3.5 hours a day on social media, and that 1 in 7 teens participating in that survey were on social media for seven or more hours a day.
Murthy lays out a series of common sense remedies that we wholeheartedly endorse. To begin with, the people who run Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and other social media platforms must step up and take responsibility for the impact that their products and services have on teens and children, and must enable independent assessments of that impact.
Lawmakers should establish and enforce age-appropriate health and safety standards that protect children from harmful content and limit the use of features aimed mostly at maximizing screen time and engagement.
Crucially, Murthy has recommendations for parents and teens: Create a “family media plan” that establishes boundaries for social media use at home. Have meaningful discussions with teens about how they spend their time online, who they are connecting with, and what their privacy settings are. That’s parenting 101, of course — stronger engagement with your children almost always leads to healthier, happier kids.
Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service
