Teen Mental Health & Social Media: Is It Big Tech’s Time of Reckoning?
In the UK in 2017, 14-year-old Molly Russell took her own life. Distressing images, videos and material about depression and suicide were found on her Instagram account.
In the USA in 2019, 16-year-old Ian Ezquerra was found dead, with similarly disturbing material found on his smartphone across a variety of social media platforms. The last minutes of the youngster’s life were spent on Snapchat. Although his death was recorded as suicide, his mother, Jennifer Mitchell, believes her son died playing a dark, online challenge.
These are just two terrible ordeals in what is a massive global problem.
Around the world, there are rumblings of something big coming. More and more parents, teachers, mental health professionals, and governments are demanding stricter laws. More responsibility is being laid at the feet of big tech to put structures in place to better protect young users.
The stories of Molly and Ian add to the growing mountain of evidence that there’s been a decline in the mental health of children and teens and that social media companies have something to answer for.
In this blog, I want to look at some of the research behind mental health issues in teens and social media use. Does it really impact them as much as we believe it does? I also want to check in with what to do, as parents, to help your children limit their use of social media.
The Child and Teen Mental Health Crisis
There was an unbelievable 45.5% surge between 2010 and 2020 in suicide among those aged between 10 and 19 in the US. This is according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. This particular survey also found that one in three teenage girls had seriously considered suicide, up from one in five in 2011.
A growing number of legislators and parents have put the blame directly at the door of social media companies that they believe are developing content and products that are highly addictive and harmful in the real world. Until now, these companies have argued that social media allows users to create relationships across the world that are, in fact, a benefit to mental health.
Although some researchers say that there’s nothing conclusive, there is a growing body of research that is becoming hard to ignore. High-speed internet, smartphones, and social media apps brew a storm and could possibly rewire children’s brains – increasing cases of anxiety, depression, and eating disorders.
Jonathan Haidt, a social psychologist and professor at New York University Stern School of Business, has said, “Multiple juries are in. They’re all reaching the same conclusion. When social media or high-speed internet came in, [studies] all find the same story, which
is mental health plummets, especially for girls.”
Pressure Mounting on Social Media Companies
Despite the currently ‘inconclusive’ scientific evidence that social media is behind a large part of the mental health crises in our young people, there are signs that they will have to start taking things a little more seriously.
Ian Ezquerra’s family is one of 147 product liability lawsuits collectively filed in the US against major social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube.
President Joe Biden has accused the industry of running experiments on “our children for profit,” and in the UK, ministers are debating an amendment to the online safety bill
In the UK, ministers are considering amending an online safety bill so that it includes criminal sanctions against social media executives that fail to protect children’s safety. This could realistically include jail time. Increased regulation could have serious profit consequences on these companies in their ad-driven business that particularly targets young people.
Of course, the blame can’t be on social media alone. Doctor Amy Orben, leader of the digital mental health group at the University of Cambridge, says, “I’m not saying that social media is not part of this [crisis], but we don’t have the evidence yet. It is a lot easier to blame companies than to blame very complex phenomena. But a very complex web of different factors influences mental health.”
Researchers that want to get stuck into the level of impact that social media is having on younger generations believe that the answers probably lie in the closely guarded data that the companies use themselves to regularly update and improve algorithms.
Are Social Media Companies Doing Enough?
Most of the major social media companies have recognized that there’s bound to be a day of reckoning and have started to put tools in place. However, many argue that these tools are simply there to save face (and profits) when the time comes and that they are still far too lenient to actually protect children and teens on these platforms.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has built about 30 tools, including parental controls, break encouragers, and age-verification technology. While Snap, TikTok, and Youtube have put measures in place that loosely verify age, remove harmful content, and, in some cases, limit screen time.
However, this simply isn’t enough. It’s far too easy for children and teens to create multiple social media accounts and get around age verification measures. Many are calling for companies to use strict age reinforcement software that needs an official document for age verification.
Utah, Minnesota, and California are just three of the US states that are taking the problem seriously and have passed laws that require more culpability from social media companies when it comes to the access that children and teens have to their platforms and the content that they are exposed to while they are there.
Hopefully, this will be the start of stricter laws that protect young people from online bullying, harassment, harmful content, and more.
How To Help Your Children
As parents that grew up without the force of social media, it can be overwhelming to know what to do about the toll that it is taking on our kids. It’s essential that you monitor and learn to limit social media and screen time in children from as early an age as you can.
Parental controls on social media accounts are essential until you know that your child is mature enough to manage their own accounts. Most importantly, you need to talk to your child about social media, how it affects them, what you expect from them, and what isn’t okay to see and interact with online.
Encourage your child to come and talk to you about something that might have disturbed them. Rather they approach you about something than hide it from you. Ensure that they are aware you’ll be monitoring their accounts and set reasonable limits. At the end of the day, social media is a part of every teen’s life, and they would be a social pariah without it.
Don’t forget that kids model themselves off of your behavior and setting a good example on how much time you spend on your phone and on social media is essential. Put your phone or laptop away when your kid wants to talk to you and make sure no one has their phones at the dinner table.
Teenagers are vulnerable and need good role models now more than ever, and by being involved in your child’s life, doing outdoor activities where you can, and supporting them in healthy ways – you are doing the best that you can.
Contact us if you want to know how we can help you and your children through trauma and other unique challenges.
