Many teens spend a lot of time on social media. Now, the U.S. Surgeon General suggests that there may be a connection between social media usage and teen depression and overall mental health.
Pew Research Center found that nearly all American teens go online to engage with friends daily, and half report being online almost constantly.
Nearly three in five girls reported feeling so sad or hopeless that they couldn’t participate in daily activities. That is the most in a decade, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“You’re online, absorbed into another world, very blurred from reality. And you could be on it for indefinite periods of time. The phone is so addicting that people can’t be without it,” said Dr. Scott Krakower, a New York psychiatrist.
He said some teens spend six to eight hours a day on screens, much of it on social media.
Does reducing consumption have an impact?
According to the American Psychological Association, teens who cut their social media use in half for a few weeks felt better about their weight and overall appearance.
What can a parent do?
One way to create healthy online habits is to control when and how long apps are used, according to Consumer Reports.
“Both iOS and Android offer pretty robust parental controls, so if you don’t want your teen using a certain app, you can go into settings and say, ‘I don’t want this app being used between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m.,’” said Consumer Reports’ Nicholas de Leon.
Shutting off the Wi-Fi is also an option. Here’s how: Find your router’s IP address and go to the admin controls. Look for time scheduling or parental controls. There, you can set up schedules for each device.
Another idea is to establish tech-free zones or times in the home.
And experts suggest parents watch their own social media habits because kids are watching.