It can be tough to be a parent and know how best to raise a child, so they are not unnecessarily left out, yet protected from the dangers of society.
The Silent Crisis: How Social Media is Harming Our Kids’ Mental Health
Life was certainly much simpler when I was a child and even when my husband and I were raising our three daughters.
It seems the addition of social media in many ways has complicated parenting, as the incidence of bullying, a focus on body image, and other harmful traits have resulted in high levels of anxiety, depression, and suicidal tendencies for children.
So, when I saw the U.S. Surgeon General, Vivek Hallegere Murthy, being interviewed on the TODAY show recently, I applauded his bold statements, and more so his call to action.
“The mental health crisis among young people is an emergency – and social media has emerged as an important contributor, ” Murthy said in an op-ed in the New York Times. “Social media platforms should come with warning labels like tobacco.”
Murthy went on to say that adolescents average nearly five hours per day on social media and that when adolescents spend more than 3 hours per day on social media, we see an association with a doubling of risk of anxiety and depression symptoms.
While one teen suicide is too many, suicide is the second-leading cause of death for teens and young adults, ages 10-34, according to the Center for Disease Control, 2023. And 13.6% of adults 18-25 had serious thoughts of suicide in the past year, according to Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2023 and 22% of high school students reported having seriously considered suicide in the past year.
The Surgeon General wants congressional approval to put warning labels on social media like those on cigarette packs.
TODAY Host Savannah Guthrie asked Murthy if warning labels would really be effective, given that all tobacco packages have warning labels on them and people still smoke. Murthy replied that after nearly a half century with warning labels and the number of smokers has gone from above 40 percent to under 12 percent today.
That is an extraordinary amount of progress, he said, and labels were a part of that, adding the importance of educating people about the dangers of smoking.
“There is no seat belt for parents to click, no helmets to snap in place, no assurance that trusted experts have investigated and ensured that these platforms are safe for our kids, there are just parents and their children trying to figure it out on their own, pitted against some of the best product engineers and the most well-resourced companies in the world”, Murthy said.
Murthy stressed the importance of phone free zones during meals, bedtime, and at social gatherings. He also encouraged parents to not allow children to have access to social media until after they are out of middle school. And for parents to work together so children don’t feel left out by their peers who have access to social media.
It can be tough to be a parent and know how best to raise a child, so they are not unnecessarily left out, yet protected from the dangers of society. So, while my children are grown, I will do my best to support parents as I work to empower choice and cultivate hope.
