Utah Gov. Spencer Cox “compared social media companies to pharmaceutical companies that make opioids” as reported in a recent Deseret News article. Children and teenagers spend less time with supportive groups and their families due to internet usage. Extensive social media usage is harming the younger generation. Social media companies were aware of this concern but did not share these details with the public.
Children and teens consistently using social media are at greater risk for cyberbullying, online harassment, sexting and depression. An article published in the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics titled “The impact of social media on children, adolescents, and families” described cyberbullying as “deliberately using digital media to communicate false, embarrassing or hostile information about another person.” Social media makes it easier for peers to verbally and emotionally harass others while hiding behind a computer screen. The article goes on to explain how this type of bullying can lead to “profound psychosocial outcomes including depression, anxiety, severe isolation, and, tragically, suicide.”
As a current worker for the Division of Child and Family Services in Utah, I can tell you that sexting or sending inappropriate videos and photos online has increased at an alarming rate within the last several years. With access to platforms like Snapchat and Instagram, adults can hide behind teenage profiles. These adults then can request inappropriate content from anyone with a profile. Children and teens often do not see the harm until being pressured into sending more photos. With Snapchat’s privacy guidelines, it is hard to retrieve username information and the photos that were sent. The article goes on to explain, “a recent survey revealed that 20% of teens have sent or posted nude or seminude photographs or videos of themselves.” Children and adolescents are not able to think out the long-term consequences of sexting. Many parental locks do not stop access to these social media platforms.
Peer-to-peer acceptance is largely important for the adolescent stage of development. Experts state that those who are offline from social media may be at risk for social isolation. However, the article says “when preteens and teens spend a great deal of time on social media sites,” they may “begin to exhibit classic symptoms of depression.”
Congress passed the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act in 1998 to set the minimum age to have a social media account at 13 years old. Are parents really following this regulation or tracking what their children are doing on social media? Are parents having a conversation about safely using social media accounts? Some parents or caregivers do not even know that their child has access to certain platforms. Having parents supervise their children’s social media accounts is important to safe usage. Parental locks on a phone do not guarantee the child does not have access to communicating and becoming a victim of social media.
Resolving social media problems with children and teenagers will take time, commitment from parents and hard work by policymakers. Limits to social media need to be made on a larger scale. As a child welfare worker, I believe the teen social media problem leads to more than just possible mental health concerns. It also leads to parent-child distress. Many Division of Child and Family Services cases open due to physical conflict from parents taking cellphones away from their children for inappropriate or excessive usage of social media. Unlimited access to social media platforms for teenagers is a risk. Teenage cellphone addiction has gotten out of control and needs national attention to help reduce unnecessary consequences.
Emily Bannister is a master of social work student at the University of Utah.