Love it or hate it social media usage is a topic many parents will have to tackle with their kids at some point. According to the Pew Research Center 95% of teens have access to a smart phone and 45% of them say they are constantly on one of the many social media platforms. What are the consequences of this amount of usage? I will focus on two that repeatedly came up in my research: Facebook depression and cyberbullying.
Facebook depression
Facebook depression was noted in a study published last year by the Harvard Business Review. The study conducted by Holly Shakya and Nicholas Christakis used data that said the average Facebook user is on the site for an hour a day. A survey by Deloitte that said checking social-media apps is one of the first things smartphone users do before getting out of bed.
I am one of those users (although I normally go for email first). So what effect does this habit have on our mental health? Christakis and Shakya noted in the Harvard Business Review:
Overall, our results showed that, while real-world social networks were positively associated with overall well-being, the use of Facebook was negatively associated with overall well-being. These results were particularly strong for mental health; most measures of Facebook use in one year predicted a decrease in mental health in a later year. We found consistently that both liking others’ content and clicking links significantly predicted a subsequent reduction in self-reported physical health, mental health, and life satisfaction.
They note the study was not able to necessarily say why there is the correlation between social media usage and mental health issues, so more work is needed.
Cyberbullying
Bullying used to subside once a student went home from school, but social media has provided a platform for bullies to engage victims 24 hours a day. The website Stopbullying.com offers a variety of resources for parents to combat these issues. These include apps that allow for real-time user videos to show bullying, violence, and harmful acts as they are happening, Some apps that include location information can be used to get personal information, such as someone’s age or current location, and apps that support telephone calls do not show up on a call log, so parents may not know who their children are talking to. You can find the full list here.
Even many kid celebrities have been targeted by cyberbullying. Here is an article that gives an example about Millie Bobby Brown. She had to leave Twitter because of online bullies.
Just the start
It’s virtually impossible to keep your kids safe from everything, but as a new mom, I appreciate these studies and tips as I learn to navigate the web through the eyes of my kids.
Hopefully, this information will provide you a great starting point to educate yourself on issues facing families trying to balance the use of social media for their kids. It’s a subject that rapidly evolves so it will be important for all parents to continue to stay up-to-date.