The effects of social media on young people’s mental health are poorly understood. That hasn’t stopped Congress, state legislatures, and the U.S. surgeon general from continuing with age restrictions and warning letters for YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram.
But the emphasis on fear through social media may cause policymakers to miss the mental health benefits it offers to young people, say researchers, pediatricians and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
In June, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, the country’s chief medical officer, asked for warning letters on social media platforms. The Senate approved the Children’s Online Safety Act and a companion bill, the Children and Youth Online Privacy Protection Act, on July 30. And at least 30 states have legislation pending. related to children and social media – from age restrictions and parental consent requirements. to innovative digital and media literacy courses for K-12 students.
Many studies suggest that some aspects of social media can be harmful: Algorithmically driven content can distort the truth and spread misinformation; constant notifications disrupt attention and disrupt sleep; and the anonymity of the sites that offer them can empower cyberbullies.
But social media can also help some young people, said Linda Charmaraman, a research scientist and director of the Youth, Media & Wellbeing Research Lab at the Wellesley Centers for Women.
For children of color and LGBTQ+ youth — and others who may not see themselves as widely represented in society — social media can reduce isolation, according to Charmaraman’s research, published in Handbook of Adolescent Digital Media Use and Mental Health. He said, age restrictions can affect these disadvantaged groups, who also spend a lot of time on the platforms.
At first you say, ‘That’s bad. We need to get them out of it,’” he said. But when you find out why they do it, it’s because it helps them feel they know who they are when something is missing in real life.
Arianne McCullough, 17, said she uses Instagram to connect with Black students like herself at Willamette University, where about 2% of students are Black.
“I know how isolating it can feel to be the only Black person, or minority, in the same place,” said McCullough, a freshman from Sacramento, California. So, having someone I can text quickly and say, ‘Let’s hang out,’ is important.”
After about a month at Willamette, in Salem, Oregon, McCullough formed a social network with other Black students. “We’re all in a little group chat,” he said. We talk and make plans.
Social media hasn’t always been kind to McCullough. After California schools closed during the pandemic, McCullough said, he suspended football and track competitions. She said she gained weight, and her social media feed constantly promoted home exercise and fasting.
“That’s where the physical comparison came in,” McCullough said, noting that he felt angry, confused and sad. I was comparing myself to other people and things that I didn’t worry about before.
When his mother tried to take the smartphone away, McCullough reacted with an emotional outburst. “It was really addictive,” said his mother, Rayvn McCullough, 38, of Sacramento.
Arianne says she finally felt happier and more like herself once she cut back on her social media use.
But the fear of losing it eventually returned, Arianne said. I missed seeing what my friends were doing and having an easy and quick conversation with them.”
In the decade before the COVID-19 pandemic sparked what the American Academy of Pediatrics and other medical groups declared a “national child and adolescent mental health emergency,” large numbers of young people were still it wrestles with their mental health.
More teens were reporting feelings of hopelessness and sadness, as well as suicidal thoughts and behaviors, according to behavioral surveys of ninth- through 12th-graders conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The heavy use of social media – such as the endless stream of videos on YouTube, TikTok and Instagram – is blamed for contributing to the problem. But the state schools committee found that the relationship between social media and young people’s mental health is complex, with potential benefits as well as risks. Evidence of social media’s impact on children’s health remains weak, the committee reported this year, as it called on the National Institutes of Health and other research groups to prioritize funding for studies. like that.
In its report, the committee cited Utah’s law last year placing age and time limits on youth use of social media and warned that the policy could backfire.
“Legislators’ intentions to protect bedtimes and schoolwork and prevent at least some compulsive use could easily have unintended consequences, perhaps alienating young people from their support organizations when they need them most.” ,” said the report.
Some states have considered policies that align with national school recommendations. For example, Virginia and Maryland have passed legislation that prohibits social media companies from selling or disclosing children’s personal information and requires platforms to implement privacy settings. Other states, including Colorado, Georgia, and West Virginia, have created studies on the mental health effects of using social media for students in public schools, which public schools also recommended.
The Kids Online Safety Act, now before the House of Representatives, would require parental consent for social media users under the age of 13 and force companies to “work to care” to protect users under the age of 17 from harm, including anxiety, depression, and suicidal behavior. The second bill, the Children and Young People’s Online Privacy Protection Act, would prevent platforms from targeting ads to children and collecting information from young people.
Attorneys in California, Louisiana, Minnesota, and several other states have filed lawsuits in federal and state courts alleging that Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, misled the public about the dangers of social media. society to young people and ignores their potential. destroy their mental health.
Most social media companies require users to be at least 13 years old, and sites often include safety features, such as preventing adults from sending messages to children and setting up accounts. children’s to privacy settings.
A case has been filed:TikTok is being sued by the Department of Justice for a violation of children’s privacy that affects millions
Despite policies in place, the Department of Justice says some internet companies are not following their rules. On Friday, the DOJ sued TikTok’s parent company for allegedly violating children’s privacy laws, saying the company allowed children under the age of 13 on the platform, and collected data about ts their use.
Surveys show that age restrictions and parental consent requirements have general support among adults.
NetChoice, an industry group whose members include Meta and Alphabet, which owns Google and YouTube, has filed lawsuits against at least eight states, seeking to suspend or overturn laws that impose age limits, verification requirements , and other policies aimed at protecting children.
Many of the effects of social media may depend on the content that children consume and the features that keep them engaged with the platform, said Jenny Radesky, a physician and co-director of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Center of Excellence on Social Media and Youth Mental. Good health.
Age restrictions, parental consent requirements and other proposals may be well-intentioned, he said, but they don’t address what he sees as the “real mechanism of danger”: business practices that aim to keep young people writing, reading and shopping.
“We’ve created this system that’s not really designed to promote young people’s mental health,” Radesky said. “It’s designed to make more money for this platform.”
Chaseedaw Giles, KFF Health News digital strategy & audience engagement editor, contributed to this report.
KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism on life issues and is one of the main programs operating inKFF – an independent source of health policy research, polls, and journalism.
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