Ask anyone what’s behind the vicious cycle of youth mental health today, and chances are the list of culprits will include social media.
While it’s true that young people are increasingly suffering from mental health issues at the same time as social media usage has skyrocketed, the research available today does not find that one is the driving force behind the other. Not yet. Correlation does not equal causation.
That’s one of the findings of a committee commissioned by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to investigate. Social media and its impact on children’s health and well-being. The committee’s approximately 250-page report also made recommendations for government policy and future research on the topic.
According to Stephanie M. Reich, a professor at the University of California, Irving School of Education, the relationship between social media and mental health is subtle and varies from person to person. Current research is limited to estimating the number and duration of children and adolescents using different social media platforms.
Reich explains that while the amount of screen time children have is a common concern, some children, like many LGBTQ+ teens, They argue that that’s not necessarily a bad thing, given that people often reach for their devices to seek social support or avoid conflict. what’s happening inside the house.
“I’m not saying screen time isn’t important, but it’s not nuanced enough to really understand the mechanisms of change, benefit, and harm,” Reich says. “So what we found, putting together all the research that’s out there, is that we don’t have very good indicators of what kids are doing with whom and why.”
The U.S. House of Representatives recently bill to prohibit The popular social media platform TikTok is used in the following countries, despite concerns about China’s access to data: oklahoma and florida It is considering legislation that would tighten age restrictions for social media users.
But the committee’s report says keeping children off social media will not solve the problem.
“While young people’s unique vulnerability to harmful content and misinformation is clear, in the committee’s assessment widespread restrictions on young people’s online access are neither realistic nor desirable,” the committee wrote. “Therefore, we need to create an online environment that protects both young people and social media users who are empowered to protect themselves.”
media literacy education
Reich said many students begin using social media in elementary school, usually before they receive any education about digital media literacy in school.
Social media platforms theoretically restrict users from creating accounts until they turn 13, but children can circumvent that restriction simply by lying about the year of their birthday during the sign-up process.
The 13-year age threshold was not based on developmental research, which is Reich’s field of expertise, but was set by lawmakers who enacted the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.
“In fact, some might argue that 13 is probably one of the most vulnerable ages to lift all restrictions and supervision,” she says. “As these spaces unfold, it’s not like you’re online or offline. It’s just your life. It’s now part of the context of childhood and adolescence.”
The committee’s report says the types of education that help students navigate their lives safely online, whether it’s media literacy, digital citizenship, or something else, varies by district and requires consistency in the curriculum. It is the responsibility of the State Board of Education to ensure gender equality. .
“While our report does not say exactly what should be included, it is clear that we need to focus on this area,” Reich said. Rather than intervening later. ”
Moreover, the Commission insists that any policy directive must be accompanied by funding and support. Teachers delivering digital literacy education also need further training to keep up with the ever-changing technologies that are part of students’ lives, including key developments identified during the report.
GPT-4, Google Gemini AI and a new app that made it deep fake The easier-to-produce version was released before the commission’s report is released in December 2023.
“In less than a year, technology has already changed so much in ways that are so important for children to understand. It wasn’t like, ‘Put it on,'” Reich said. “What was really important was to have an education system to help kids understand things like how these online spaces work. You’ll gain a better understanding of design and social media ‘stickiness’. ”
digital design for kids
According to the committee’s report, there are many things that can affect children’s experiences when they use social media platforms. Algorithms designed to keep users on the app stuff their feeds with sensational content, publicly aggregate likes and shares on users’ posts, and turn the experience into a game with “badges.” You can change it. The more time users spend on a platform, the more revenue social media companies can earn from advertising.
This seeming competition for attention can be especially difficult for adolescent users to turn away.
“Heightened reward sensitivity may make the necessary task of detaching from social media difficult for adolescents, while a desire for independence may make digital spaces particularly attractive. ”, the report committee wrote. They will be subject to parental supervision, similar to what face-to-face interactions can cause. ”
The commission’s report outlines how social media companies can adopt “age-appropriate design,” including collecting only necessary data from young users. It also protects “persuasive design” features that aim to keep users online longer or entice them to spend money.
Although each child’s experience with social media varies, Reich notes that euphoric teens and depressed teens may interact differently with the online world. , researchers simply don’t have access to data from the platforms that make their research possible. We dig deeper into how it affects young people.
However, because companies tightly control their data, outsiders have no way of knowing whether they are doing meaningful work to protect children and youth from what the report calls “habit-forming” features on their platforms. It has become difficult for people to judge.
According to the report, “The ability of researchers and civil society watchdogs to access social media data and review its algorithms will help us understand how social media platforms impact young people, for better or for worse. “It will help us understand it more deeply.”
The report recommends that the International Organization for Standardization host a working group of experts to standardize how apps are developed based on user age, “with a focus on protecting privacy.” The group also discovered how social media companies can safely share data that researchers could use to find more specific links between social media use and health.
“Individuals may try to provide their data to researchers, or companies may sue for violating terms of service,” Reich said. “But to really understand what’s going on, researchers have to look behind the curtain. It’s an interesting space in that the product is [available] The public, especially minors, lacks sufficient supervision, monitoring, and understanding. ”
