Teen Mental Health: Looking Beyond Screens and Social Media

Much has been written about the link between teen mental health challenges and screen time. Social media has been pointed to as a direct cause of distress among teens. For many teenagers, social media is so far integrated into their lives that they couldn’t possibly imagine going without it. Adolescents use social media for everything from increasing their social connections to reducing loneliness and finding safe spaces during difficult times in their lives. Even with these seemingly positive applications for social media, the social discourse remains unwavering in its stance that reliance on social media among young people is wreaking havoc on their mental stability.

However, as popular movies like “Toy Story 5” perpetuate this fear, casting dire warnings about the dangers of cyberbullying and social media addiction among adolescents and teens, some psychologists are taking another look at the connection between social media and teen mental health and arriving at some surprising conclusions: We may be barking up the wrong tree.

The “Sellability” of Scary Stories

Just like the urban myths that spread like wildfire in the 1980s about everything from razor blades in Halloween candy to Satanic messages in rock music, stories that put parents on edge about the safety and mental wellness of their children will always have a place in the zeitgeist. Today, the stories about the dangers of social media use for children prey on parents’ anxiety, and they are wildly effective.

Canadian psychologist Candice Odgers, who has studied adolescent mental health for 25 years, speaks to this effectiveness and how it may be leading parents to overreact to social media use, all the while overlooking other factors that can contribute to a breakdown in teen mental health. She sees a wide range of causes contributing to the deterioration of mental health among teens, and feels that the laser focus being given to social media could ultimately be detrimental in the search for solutions.

“The identification of social media as the culprit, as the biggest predictor of all the things that we worry about in our kids, is misleading, because it doesn’t show up that way in the vast majority of studies,” Odgers told The Guardian. “And it sucks all the air out of the room in terms of thinking about solutions.”

Nuances of Teen Mental Health and Social Media Use

In the wider conversation about social media and teen mental health, open communication between parents and children and nuance need to be front and center. Anything has the power to negatively impact a child’s mental stability, from a parent’s divorce to pressures stemming from a divided political climate. If we sweep the majority of these factors under the rug to highlight one component of a teen’s life and social interaction, we may be missing the mark on a societal level. Teens will be the ones to ultimately suffer from society’s myopic view.

Parents should monitor their children’s social media use and familiarize themselves with the various apps and trends. Placing limits on use, such as designating 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. as “phones off” time, can help teens learn how to regulate their social media use and find other outlets for socialization or entertainment. Parents should try to remain curious about their teen’s social media use, even though it can be easy to jump right to criticism. Check in with teens to see how they feel about social media. Lastly, it’s important for adults to model good habits for the teens in their lives. A family-wide media plan can help all members of the family have a healthier relationship with technology.

Ultimately, as social media platforms evolve and become a more significant part of daily life, parents and teens will have to learn how to live with the technology. There is a notable lack of strong scientific evidence to support that social media bans for teenagers improve mental health. Blanket bans and loud discourse about teen tech use can shift focus away from other systemic issues impacting teen mental health, such as family dysfunction or economic insecurity. By making social media the one and only scapegoat, teen mental health is liable to continue to decline.

What may be more productive for parents is comprehensive guidance that considers social media as part of modern life. We should also, as a society, continue to support common-sense safety measures around social media use for teens.

Social media is not going anywhere. As years go by and technology improves, these platforms may play an even more important role in our social interactions, businesses, and family connections. Learning to apply nuance to these conversations can help parents understand the teen perspective on social media and help teens learn how to use social media responsibly.

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