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Never before has it been as important to promote safe, healthy and positive online spaces. The vast majority of teenagers in the United States use the internet regularly; a reported 97% of say that internet use is a fundamental part of their everyday life.
Much of that time is spent on social media — over half of these teens reported spending close to 5 hours a day on social media sites.
In many cases, social media replaces a young person’s face-to-face interactions or extracurricular activities, which could lead to socially developmental and/or emotional consequences, or worse.
As parents, educators, and a society, it’s time to realize the potentially negative impact of social media.
How Can Social Media Be Bad for Your Teen’s Brain?
Social media has many harmful effects on a young, developing teenage brain.
Overuse exposes them to countless factors that influence their cognitive health, including overstimulation, endless media consumption, and risk of digital addiction.
With every like, comment and share prompting a response in the brain, the cycle of cognitive harm can be set in motion by social media use.
Social media interactions can be fast and simple but also devastating.
Caught in the whirlwind of the digital age, teens could be in continuous search of affirmation on social media. It may lead to your child believing they need nonstop online validation.
Compromising Concentration
Rapid scrolling and porta-sized content is what makes the heart of any social media platform. Remember that social media users, every minute: watch millions of TikTok videos, “Like” millions of Facebook posts, share hundreds of thousands of Instagram Reels, and upload hundreds of hours of video to YouTube.
The unending flow provides a nearly endless supply of things for your teen to engage with, testing their brain’s ability to concentrate on activities that require sustained attention.
Understanding the Harm
With such an abundance of content available daily, how we engage with information is also changing. However, the sheer volume of choices may come at the cost of a sustained attention span.
A teenager has a lot to balance and needs a healthy attention span to
- Focus during school.
- Digest and respond to complex topics.
- Stay alert while driving.
- Take care of stress in a healthy way.
- Positively adapt to circumstances.
The Story Behind: Effects of Social Media on Teen Mental Health
Social media is so enticing to teen-agers. It has become a place for catching up with friends, self-expression, staying in vogue and getting peer validation.
But these advantages also come with a range of significant disadvantages, with social media addiction gone bad and your teen’s mental health potentially suffering.
Why Is Social Media Bad for Mental Health?
Many of the social media-related situations which could arise inherently cause feelings of inferiority, anxiety, depression, dissatisfaction, and stress.
While every teen has a different experience, social media use has been associated with negative mental health effects in the following ways.
Comparison
Constant exposure to the highlight reel of others’ lives can shift teens’ comparison standards to their peers, distorting their self-perception and contributing them with self-esteem issues.
Unrealistic Expectations
It can be particularly damaging when social media depicts a filtered, perfected version of life, pressuring teens to live up to the unattainable, leading to feelings of stress or discontent.
Teenagers are bombarded by perfect images. This in turn — combined with the whipsaw highs and lows of internet validation — can contribute to an inflated sense of self-consciousness
Reliance on Validation
The positive reinforcement seen in likes, comments and shares can lead teens to become reliant on outside validation for their confidence or self worth.
Pressure to Conform
While trends and challenges can heighten existing pressures to meet outside expectations, they can also induce internal strife and a feeling of inauthenticity.
Cyberbullying
Given that online interactions can obscure identity, teens may be subjected to harassment, humiliation, or threats on social media platforms.
How Can You Help Protect Your Teens on Social Media?
While there is no denying that social media has potential and current harmful effects, these platforms play an important role in the lives of many teens.
Here are few tips to help a provide a safe and positive online experience:
- Encourage open, non-judgmental conversations about online activity.
- Teach your teens good online practices.
- Check your teen’s social media privacy settings and adjust.
- Set clear, reasonable limits on how much time they spend online.
- Be a role model by showing how to use the Internet and social media in a healthy way.
- Get involved with parent controls to help you supervise and manage your teen online.
- Urge your child to try offline activities like sports or hobbies.
- Follow the Latest Social Media Trends and Risks
- Establish tech-free zones in the home or at certain times.
- Help your teens deal with online content and conflicts with critical thinking skills — and to seek help when they need it.
Are Lawsuits Being Filed?
Companies are legally responsible for the products they provide to the public. Even digital services require adequate safety measures — so a non-negotiable.
If a social media platform introduces features or functionalities that cause harm — like addiction-related problems — those affected and their families can file a social media harm lawsuit under product liability.
What You Need, to File Your Social Media Harm Lawsuit
Social media companies have an obligation to shield vulnerable demographics from features and practices with the capacity to wreak incalculable harm.
You are up against a complex legal environment as it relates to social media.
For a free, no-obligation consultation with an experienced attorney, contacto Napoli Shkolnik hoy.