Spotlight on Back-to-School Season: Young People and Social Media

By guest author Tanya Ngo, M.D., APA Foundation Fellowships alumna

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the majority of teenagers today spend a significant amount of time online. With that comes exposure to social media; in a 2024 survey¹, around one third of teens interviewed reported using at least one social media site constantly. Efforts to limit this exposure range from suggesting time limits to increasing regulations on social media apps, but the reality is that our teenagers spend time on social media. What can we do to encourage them to use it wisely?

Concerns about social media use among young people are prevalent year-round, but especially now, as many tweens and teens head back to school. Here’s what we know from the research, including a 2023 advisory from the US Surgeon General (.pdf)²:

• More time spent on social media is correlated with increased symptoms of depression
• Online harassment and abuse disproportionately affect teenage girls and transgender youth
• Excessive use of social media is linked to problems with sleep and attention

It’s natural for parents, guardians, educators, and other caring adults to be alert for potential warning signs of problematic social media use. Some of the red flags to watch for:

• Failure to attend to responsibilities like homework or chores because of the time spent on social media
• Lying about social media use or behavioral outbursts related to social media (such as having a meltdown when social media use is restricted)
• Social media getting in the way of healthy behaviors (such as choosing to use social media instead of attending an in-person gathering)

Many of us use social media frequently and understand that it is inherently neither harmful nor beneficial. That said, there are action steps that parents can take to encourage healthy engagement with social media, such as:

• Allow for certain times and spaces to be technology-free (such as during mealtimes or while at school)
• Invite open communication about your child’s social media use, which can include routine monitoring or limitations
• Model safe and appropriate behaviors by avoiding being on social media during face-to-face interactions and adhering to your own limits on social media use

So, how can all this be applied in a conversation with your child(ren)? Here are a few questions to kick off discussions of social media:

• What social media apps do you like to use? What do you like about them?
• Do you wish anything about social media was different?
• What are some good and bad things about social media?
• Do you think social media impacts your mental health? What have you heard about social media and mental health?

Younger kids and teenagers alike may enjoy the activity below, which encourages reflection on the different social media apps. Color in each box depending on how positively or negatively each app influences the element of your mental health in each row. For the empty box, you can choose another app that you use often.

• Red – Makes it worse
• Pink – Makes it a little worse
• Yellow – Makes it a little better
• Green – Makes it better
• Gray – Has no effect

References

1. Teens, Social Media, and Technology (2024) — Pew Research Center
2. Social Media and Youth Mental Health (2023) — The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory