Another new study on the impact of social media on kids and another reason for parents to be concerned about the issue.
In this Harris poll, half of all 2,000 parents surveyed believe their children’s mental health has suffered due to social media use in the past 12 months.
The survey found that only about one third of parents think that children’s social media use has a positive influence on their mental health and that’s down from 43 percent in the survey last year.
According to the report, a pediatric psychologist at Nationwide Children’s Hospital who was involved in the study says that while social media can help build a sense of community, relationships, and self-understanding, it can also increase anxiety and depression in kids when used inappropriately and expose them to inappropriate sharing, hurtful language, and even bullying.
The report says that in response to the growing concern, some platforms such as TikTok have added some new safety measures but negative impacts of social media on kids’ mental health is still a big problem.
The psychologist’s advice? Take an active role in what your child is doing on social media, limit their time spent on their phone or tablets and regularly talk to them about it and their mental health.
Parenting has always been a hard job but with the spread of social media, it’s become even harder.
And because kids are always watching their parents, limiting their use of social media to set an example is one bit of advice we can all use.
(Photo Getty Images)
Photo: AFP via Getty Images