ORLANDO, Fla. – Today’s students are more tech savvy than ever, but with those skills also come some challenges they may not be developmentally ready for, like the risks involved with using social media. That’s why the U.S. Surgeon General now recommends warning labels for social media.
Wednesday on Breakfast With Bridgett, a child psychiatrist discussed how social media can impact childrens’ mental health and shared ways to protect them.
“I think the advisory and the warning labels is a good step. Now it becomes education and support for parents and kids. Whether that’s implementing rules at home, whether that’s limiting social media use an hour before bedtime, none at meal times, none at homework times. Parents being actively involved with their kids in terms of what content they’re viewing, sometimes even participating in these social media networks and having established boundaries on what they can comment on, what they can’t. I think it’s a healthier step in the right direction. I think the emphasis needs to be on social media literacy for kids and understanding the risks involved,” said Dr. Suraj Modi, a general, child and adolescent psychiatrist with Orlando Health.
Dr. Modi says social media is here to stay, but there’s been an uptick since the pandemic with mental health impacts on kids. The negative impact more than doubles for kids who use social media more than three hours a day. 95% of adolescents 13 to 17 and 40% of 8 to 12-year-olds are already using it.
Modi says with proper literacy, guidance and boundaries, parents can help protect their kids from the mental health risks, such as depression, anxiety, body dysmorphia, eating disorders and suicidal behaviors. Dr. Modi says most adolescent patients come in for help with these issues after warning signs show up at home or school.
“Typically it begins with often parents are seeing warning signs at home, counselors and teachers are seeing warning signs at school, whether it’s social isolation, anxiety, difficulties academically, typically psychiatrists are the first point of reference in diagnosing and trying to figure out what the problems are and how to intervene,” he said.
When it comes to trying to cut kids off or bar them from technology and social media altogether, the doctor says it can backfire.
“I am met with a lot of parents and what I tend to find clinically is if it’s a hard rule, kids are going to find a way. I’ve seen kids buying phones, borrowing friend’s phones, starting up apps and profiles themselves. The approach I often take is a family approach on expectations, but also bridging the communication gaps. I’d rather have parents trying to support and educate as opposed to giving a hard boundary. As you know with adolescents, it’s going to be met with a lot of resistance,” he said.
For more, watch the full interview above and go to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry website.
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