Examining social media's impact on our kids' mental health
It's a concern impacting families around the world: Is social media affecting our children's mental health?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 37% of high school students experienced poor mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly 20% seriously considered suicide.
The U.S. surgeon general issued an advisory surrounding kids' mental health and experts declared a national emergency on the subject.
“One thing about things like TikTok is that you can just scroll through and not think,” Dr. Abigail Schlesinger said. “It gives you an opportunity to sort of disconnect, and if people are feeling depressed or down, disconnecting isn't the way to feel better. Connecting with people is.”
Schlesinger is the Chief of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry for UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital and Children’s Hospital.
“We've seen many people coming to get help for behavioral health concerns for depression anxiety school performance,” she said.
Schlesinger said pinpointing why that is happening is complicated.
“It's easy to sort of demonize social media and say, ‘things have changed. We need to stop it,’ but for our kids, social media is a part of their lives,” Schlesinger said.
Social media is something parents need to accept and adjust to, she said. Parents should teach kids how to balance online and real life. Schlesinger said there is a place for both.
“It's been good for some kids to have a way to connect to kids in times when there were shut downs or that they were unable to be around their school peers,” she said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention findings show 28.4% of kids who felt close to someone in person suffered from poor mental health. That number was higher for kids who felt close to someone virtually — and the highest for kids who felt close to no one.
“The difference with online is, it's much easier to create a persona — take away the things that might be negative or only post the positive things,” Schlesinger said.
While several attorneys general are now investigating TikTok and whether algorithms can create dangerous online environments- like promoting eating disorders, self-harm and suicide. Schlesinger says parents shouldn't remove all online activities, but instead talk to their kids about online safety and feel comfortable asking for help.
“Historically there's always been things that we're worried are hurting children, so as a provider as a parent I like instead to focus on what can we do to mitigate any risk that there might be,” Schlesinger said.
Schlesinger says if you feel your child is suffering from mental health issues, whether it’s from social media or for any reason, she recommends you talk to your pediatrician first — since you have a relationship with them and they know your family, and they can link you to the right resources.