American Psychologists Advise Parents to Closely Monitor Children’s Social Media Use

The logos of mobile apps Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, Google, and Messenger displayed on a tablet on Oct. 1, 2019. (AFP via Getty Images/Denis Charlet)

The American Psychological Association (APA) recommends parents actively engage in monitoring their teenage children’s social media activities and carefully consider their own use of social media in their children’s presence, according to its latest health advisory.

Amid mounting concerns about how social media access to teenagers has led to rises in depression, anxiety, and self-harm, the national organization of psychologists on Tuesday issued its first-ever health advisory on social media use.

The advisory, according to the APA, presents recommendations based on the scientific evidence to date. It is aimed at teenagers, parents, teachers, policymakers, mental health professionals, and technology companies.

The APA guidance doesn’t denounce social media, instead arguing that using social media is “not inherently beneficial or harmful to young people” but should be carefully managed, as its effects “likely depend on what teens can do and see online, their preexisting strengths or vulnerabilities, and the contexts in which they grow up.” It also doesn’t mention any specific platform by name, instead offering advice emphasizing the role of parents in shaping their children’s online lives.

Look for Red Flags

In one recommendation, the APA states that parents should screen warning signs of “problematic social media use,” which can impair their children’s ability to engage in daily roles and routines and cause serious mental harm over time.

These signs include “strong cravings” to use social media, being unable to stop even when the child wants to, repeatedly spending more time on social media than intended, and lying in order to maintain social media use.

“About 50 percent of teens report at least one sign of problematic social media use,” Dr. Mitch Prinstein, the APA’s chief science officer and professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, wrote in a Q&A on the APA’s website.

In that same vein, the APA recommends that parents keep a watchful eye to make sure social media does not interfere with their children’s sleep routines and physical activity, two areas crucial for both physical and psychological health.

“Data indicate that technology use, particularly within one hour of bedtime, and social media use in particular, is associated with sleep disruptions,” the APA warns. “Insufficient sleep is associated with disruptions to neurological development in adolescent brains, teens’ emotional functioning, and risk for suicide.”

Monitor and Discuss

For younger teenagers aged between 10 and 14 years old, the advisory recommends that adults closely monitor what their children are being exposed to and provide ongoing discussion and coaching about the content.

Recent studies suggest that harmful content, including those related to suicide and self-harm, appears more frequently in children’s feeds than parents may think. According to a report by the nonprofit group Common Sense Media, some 40 percent of teenage girls see images and videos related to suicide at least once a month on Instagram and TikTok, and roughly one in three girls say they come across content related to eating disorders at least once a month on Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube.

“Adults’ own use of social media in youths’ presence should also be carefully considered,” the advisory added. “Science demonstrates that adults’ orientation and attitudes toward social media may affect adolescents’ own use of social media.”

Certain advice doesn’t seem to be as easy to follow as others. For example, one part of the advisory recommends limiting the time that teenagers—particularly teenage girls—spend comparing themselves to other people on social media in terms of physical appearance and the amount of attention their photos receive.

“Young people who use social media to compare people’s appearance or seek feedback about their own personal photos are at increased risk for poorer body image, disordered eating, and depressive symptoms, particularly among girls,” Prinstein explained.

“Help your child understand people are selective about sharing only what they want you to see online, giving a curated view of their lives and appearance. Many photos and videos are manipulated with filters or doctored with editing tools,” the professor continued. “Yet, even when people know about those tools, their first instinct is usually to trust the content they’re viewing as true and accurate. Youth and adults need to override those automatic thoughts, and continually remind themselves that what they see online isn’t always real.”

Bipartisan Effort in Senate

The APA advisory comes weeks after a bipartisan group of Senators introduced the Protecting Kids on Social Media Act, which aims to restrict children’s access to social media, as well as ban companies from using algorithms to recommend content to children.

The bill (pdf), backed by Sens. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), and Katie Britt (R-Ala.), would set a minimum age of 13 to use social media apps and require parental consent and age verification for users under 18.

Most social media sites currently require children to be at least 13 years old, but their age verification is typically based on an honor system, which allows users to submit a fake date of birth or check off a box showing they meet the age requirement. The bill would force platforms to take “reasonable steps beyond merely requiring attestation” to ensure that users are actually as old as they claim to be.

“By setting an age limit of 13—and requiring parental consent until age 18—our bill will put parents back in control of what their kids experience online,” Cotton said.

Should the bill becomes law, social media companies will also be forbidden from using the “personal data” of any user to recommend content unless the platform “knows or reasonably believes that the individual is age 18 or older according to the age verification process used by the platform,” the bill’s text reads. It doesn’t specify how algorithms will be regulated.

Advertising to minors will still be allowed, so long as it’s “solely based on context,” and isn’t “targeted or recommended based on the personal data” of the child.

“These algorithms are sending many down dangerous online rabbit holes, with little chance for parents to know what their kids are seeing online,” said Murphy, father of a teenage son and a son about to be a teenager.