Parker Hart said he doesn’t worry about missing out. “Yes, a lot of my friends do have it. And a lot of them are like, hey, you should get this and that,” he said.
“I’m like, no, I’m good.” Parker and his sister Courtney have YouTube channels, but their dad, who works in social media marketing, says that’s it. “As far as the rest of the social media, we’re just waiting until we feel like they’re responsible enough to handle the good and the bad that come with it,” Hart explained, adding that he would worry about their mental health if they were on social media sites. “There’s just so much that people wouldn’t say to your face that they’ll say online.
And kids are cruel a lot of times.”
That cruelty can also be directed at themselves. A 15-year-old girl visiting Seattle from Texas shared her experience of negative self-comparison on social media. “I used to do competitive dance,” she said.
“I used to have an eating disorder. So that was because I saw other girls like that. And so I feel like it does really hurt me in my mental health.”
Dr.
Yolanda Evans, the division head of adolescent medicine, noted, “There’s online harassment, cyberbullying.
Teens’ strategies for managing social media
There’s a risk of exposure to content that is not appropriate for the age.
There are teasing and negative comments that can impact people. And then there’s the sense of, well, other people are doing it, so maybe I should too,” Evans said. She recounted research she did around self-injury, where kids experiencing self-harm behaviors found such behaviors contagious in a way.
“They would see it and think it was a coping strategy, use it, and continue to post and watch related content.”
Evans suggests parents talk to their kids about what they see on social media and ask how it makes them feel. She advises setting rules on how and when kids use their devices, including turning them off an hour before bedtime. With school starting, keeping phones from interfering with sleep is even more important.
As teens become more aware of social media hazards, some are figuring out how to self-manage potential harm. “I try to be aware of it as much as possible,” said 17-year-old Caitlin Carbone. “I have timers that I set, so I’m like, OK, time to get off.” Carbone, from a small town in Alaska, also sees the benefits of social media.
“Sometimes it’s hard to find people who are like you and who have the same struggles as you, and you can find those people on social media,” she said. The teen who developed an eating disorder said she stopped comparing herself to other girls on social media videos. “I just didn’t worry about other people,” she said.
“I made myself feel more loved, and I told myself every day, I’m lovable, and my body’s perfect.”
For additional guidance, new resources from the American Academy of Pediatrics include FAQs on social media use to help guide parents and teens alike.
