Social Media and Mental Health
Teen anxiety and depression have risen sharply over the past decade, and phones are often at the centre of the conversation. In The Anxious Generation, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt argues that childhood shifted from play-based to phone-based, with social media playing a major role.
The link is not simple, but it is serious
Research does not show that every young person who uses social media will become unwell. Mental health is shaped by sleep, family stress, genetics, school pressure, identity, and community.
An especially great point Haidt made is in regards to the dangers of the real world vs the virtual world:
"In recent decades, America and many other Western nations made two contradictory choices about children’s safety, and both were wrong. We decided that the real world was so full of dangers that children should not be allowed to explore it without adult supervision, even though the risks to children from crime, violence, drunk drivers, and most other sources have dropped steeply since the 1990s. At the same time, it seemed like too much of a bother to design and require age-appropriate guardrails for kids online, so we left children free to wander through the Wild West of the virtual world, where threats to children abounded."
Still, social media use can worsen known risk factors:
Less sleep, especially when phones stay in bedrooms
More social comparison
More exposure to bullying or exclusion
Fewer hours spent in face-to-face play
Constant interruption of attention
What helps
Families and schools can reduce harm without panic.
Good starting points include:
Keep phones out of bedrooms at night
Delay social media when possible
Protect unstructured outdoor time
Talk about algorithms, comparison, and mood
If you would like help with excessive social media use, feel free to book a no charge 15-minute consultation call with me for in-person support in Guelph and across Ontario with online counselling!
Have a question you think would make a great blog post that I could answer? Send me a message at collabpsy@gmail.com and I could address it next time!
