US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued a statement on Tuesday Advice about adverse effects Social media affects children and young adults, especially when it comes to their mental health.
Teens spent an average of 3.5 hours per day on social media in 2021, according to the New release that accompanied the report.
Young people find many benefits to using social media, including finding connections with others who are going through similar experiences or having a place to showcase their creativity, but there are “many indications” that social media can harm children and teens, according to the Surgeon General.
For example, social media may expose young people to content that promotes disordered eating habits or social comparisons, or even content that is violent or shows others being bullied. Moreover, social media may also affect young people’s health by interfering with their sleep, physical activity, and real-life interactions with people, according to the surgeon general.
“We are in the midst of a national youth mental health crisis, and I am concerned that social media is an important driver of that crisis – one that we must urgently address,” Murthy said in a press release.
The recommendations for action outlined in the advisory report involve many of the same stakeholders who have been called upon to act at different points when it comes to young people using social media. This includes calling on policymakers to “strengthen safety standards and limit access,” encouraging researchers to prioritize the mental health of young people, and requiring tech companies to “more transparently assess the impact of their products on children.”
The advisory report also recommends adopting the children themselves online health practicesincluding blocking disturbing content, speaking loudly, and communicating with another person if they experience bullying or harassment online—whether by them or someone else.
Read more: How sleep affects your mental health
How social media affects children – for better and for worse
According to research reported in the report, the brains of adolescents between the ages of 10 and 16 go through a “highly sensitive” period of development. This is the same period in which risk-taking behaviors (sometimes encouraged on social media) and mental health issues such as depression (whose symptoms may be exacerbated on social media) usually appear.
There are many reasons why social media is harmful to children indicated in the report, including the fact that it may lay addictive pathways in the brain and the fact that it may provide easier access to potentially dangerous strangers in children’s lives. According to a 2023 report from Common Sense Media titled How girls really feel about social mediaA large portion of the teenage girls surveyed who use Instagram (58%), Snapchat (57%) and TikTok (46%) have been contacted by a stranger through the platform in ways that made them feel “uncomfortable.” .”
However, one of the main benefits of social media for young people is that it may connect them with others who have had similar experiences that they otherwise would not have met. According to the report, research shows that social media may support the well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer youth by providing more identity and peer support.
Seven in 10 girls of color also reported that they “experienced with positive or identity-affirming content related to race,” the advisory said, citing the same 2023 report on how teenage girls relate to social media.
“The reality is that teens’ relationships with social media are complex,” Common Sense founder James B. Steyer said in the foreword to the report on girls and social media. “They know it’s not always what’s best for them, but it plays a huge role in how they experience the world and build and support their relationships. They’re not likely to stop using it, but we have a chance to make it work better for them.”
Read more: Adolescents, social media use and mental health: What you really need to know
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