Social media’s myriad risks for kids

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This article was published 26/06/2024 (808 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

On June 17, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek H. Murthy said social media platforms should come with warnings, in the style of those used on cigarette packages and alcohol labels, since social media apps have been deemed detrimental to children’s mental health.

The American Psychological Association and the Canadian Paediatric Society have also sounded the alarm, with the latter saying of the impacts of social media use: “We are in the midst of a youth mental health crisis that demands meaningful and conscientious mitigation measures.”

Many children, and most teens, use social media daily.

Platforms like TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram and WhatsApp may seem like a good way to explore interests and connect with friends, but research suggests they may be doing kids more harm than good.

If a warning label was adopted, it would have to be pretty extensive, since there is much to approach with caution.

It might go something like this:

WARNING: Hours spent daily on social media may lead to the following: lowered self-esteem; fear of missing out; poorer body image; shortened attention span; lack of confidence; loneliness, anxiety, depression; and high-risk behaviours.

Social media can subject children to a steady stream of idealized, highly sexualized, artificial intelligence-generated characters that kids will compare themselves to and likely find themselves lacking.

It’s bad enough that young people have been fed the message that any images of themselves shared online should be run through filters that erase any perceived “imperfections” of skin and muscle tone. Now there is a whole AI army of perfect bodies and faces streaming through their feeds 24 hours a day. Some of those images are pornographic.

Damage will be done and is being done.

WARNING: Social media regularly subjects children and youth to sexual stereotypes and misogyny, as if there weren’t enough exposure to that in real life.

Social media tells the world that some people only have value as sexual objects. Images of women and girls, in particular, are often publicly discussed and dissected in terms of their clothing and specific body parts — not for their points of view, skills, insights, discoveries, adventurous spirits, creative talents or generous hearts.

And not only that, there are adults with ill intent on social media who may use adolescents’ profile information to sext them or exploit their innocence to turn them into victims of sextortion — blackmailed for sex, sexually graphic photos or money.

Parents should also know that children’s images could be plucked from social media and used to create images of child sexual abuse that are then shared with others.

WARNING: Children who seem to have an active online “life,” may, in fact, be feeling isolated or alienated.

Their lives off-screen may become frightening and anxiety-ridden because of what is happening to them onscreen.

They may be the targets of cyberbullying, body shaming, peer pressure.

The U.S. Surgeon General advises that for adolescent girls in particular, social media use may “perpetuate body dissatisfaction, disordered eating behaviors, social comparison and low self-esteem.”

In a 2023 advisory, he warned that, “Extreme, inappropriate, and harmful content continues to be easily and widely accessible by children and adolescents. This can be spread through direct pushes, unwanted content exchanges, and algorithmic designs. In certain tragic cases, childhood deaths have been linked to suicide- and self-harm-related content and risk-taking challenges on social media platforms.”

And it’s not just themselves that social media can make kids feel bad about — as if that wasn’t concerning enough.

Social media also exposes them to a steady diet of hateful content — posts that vilify people for their race, religion, sexual orientation, physical appearance, political position, social status or perceived lack thereof, mental health, or just basic human vulnerabilities.

True, there can be pockets of community that are welcoming and inclusive, but there aren’t enough safeguards to filter out the vitriol.

WARNING: Children and teens need to feel safe. Social media opens them up to innumerable harms at a time in their lives when their brains are still developing and they are not equipped to recognize the dangers.

If this all sounds a bit bleak, well, quite frankly, it is.

The U.S. Surgeon General puts it bluntly: “Our children’s well-being is at stake.”

Parents, teachers, governments, researchers and big tech companies all have a role to play in protecting children and creating spaces where they can explore the digital world with more boundaries and less risk.

Responsible adults wouldn’t hand a child a loaded gun and let them play with it, or give them a package of cigarettes laced with carcinogens.

So why has society normalized the practice of putting smartphones and tablets and laptops in the hands of children, leaving them to explore the wonders and horrors of social media unaccompanied?

Pam Frampton is a freelance writer and editor who lives in St. John’s.

Email pamelajframpton@gmail.com

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