Screen Time Overload: The Silent Danger of Social Media for Children
Are screens stealing our children’s childhood?
With the increasing amount of screen time usage among children, it’s hard not to wonder about the impact it’s having on their development and overall well-being. When the pandemic started, an easy distraction was to spend an abundance amount of time on mobile devices.
Now, three years after the pandemic began, the mobile device usage continues to expand — with the help of evolving social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram. Researchers have found some alarming statistics regarding the screen time usage in today’s youth, and shows how important to monitor children’s screen time usage.
JAMA Pediatrics reported that screen use by children during the COVID-19 pandemic increased by more than an hour and twenty minutes. This is concerning because children have recommended time limits on screens. Children under two years old should have no screen time, children 2–5 years old should participate in no more than one hour per day co viewing with a parent or sibling, and children 5–17 years old generally should not be spending more than two hours per day looking at a screen.
Babies and young children learn from human interaction, and excessive screen time can have negative implements on their daily functioning and behaviors as they continue to develop. For a brain to develop and grow, it needs essential stimuli from the outside world. More importantly, they need time to process those stimuli. While reading storybooks out loud gives children time to process words, images and voices, the constant absorption of on-screen images and messages affects their attention span and focus.
Exposure to screens reduces babies’ ability to read human emotion and control their frustration. It also detracts from activities that help boost their brain power, like play and interacting with other children.
It appears that the age in which children participate in social media continues to get increasingly younger. About 56% of the youth in the U.S have their own social media accounts. The average age when signing up for an account was 12.6 years old.
Most social media apps require that children be at least 13 years of age before creating an account. The problem with this is that children can easily lie to these apps. There is no further verification to prove that a person is the age they register as. While some apps like TikTok will ban accounts of children who are clearly under the age of 13, there is so many more children out there who are getting involved with social media and not being “caught” for it. Social media apps can only do so much to regulate the age restrictions — but they are not doing enough.
Every few months, there are viral trends on social media apps, more recently surfacing on TikTok, that have people doing outrageous acts or spreading false information, or bad behaviors to a public platform. For example, a few years ago TikTok had a trend where people were encouraging others to consume Tide pods because they looked like they could be a candy. It should go without saying why this is not a smart idea, but this is dangerous considering young children may be easily influenced to believing a Tide pod tastes like candy.
Another example of a dangerous trend that were proven to be harmful was the “blackout challenge”. This viral challenge had individuals try to hold their breath until they pass out. As a result of the youth being influenced by such viral trends, at least 15 children under the age of 12 have died attempting this challenge.
It is quite clear that challenges like this will never go away, and there will always be another outlandish viral challenge that surfaces — but who is consuming this type of content is important.
As children get older and become teenagers, the social med usage becomes more prevalent. Survey’s show 90% of teens age 13–17 have used social media.
Growing research has found that the more time spent on social media, the more likely a person will experience mental health symptoms like anxiety, isolation, and hopelessness. Teens who spend more time on social media may compare their lives to others, leading to feelings of inadequacy and low self-esteem. Also, excessive social media use may lead to social isolation, as people may rely on online interactions rather than face-to-face ones. Social media can be addictive, leading to anxiety when not using it. It is crucial to maintain a balance between social media use and real-life interactions to avoid these negative effects.
Unfortunately, teenagers do not always understand the implications of social media addictions, and they would rather participate in online activity since all their friends are. Anne Marie Albano, PhD of Columbia University for Anxiety and Related Disorders says cyberbullying is a reoccurring problem seen on social media, “The more you’re online, the more chances there are of being bullied or harassed or something negative happening. While we don’t have data that determines which gender gets bullied more, per se, we do know that LGBTQ youth are at a higher risk of being targeted and bullied online.”
About 37% of young people between the ages of 12–17 have been bullied online. An even more alarming statistic is 95% of teens in the U.S are online, and the vast majority access the internet on their mobile device, making it the most common medium for cyberbullying.
While some states have implemented laws to combat cyberbullying, it still occurs and is even easier to do so now with apps where a person can be anonymous. Cyberbullying is something that is not stopping and needs to be discussed about with children prior to registering for social media accounts.
Excessive social media use and screen time in children and teens can have negative outcomes on their mental health. It can lead to feelings of inadequacy, low self-esteem, social isolation, and addiction, which can cause anxiety when not using it. It is essential for parents and caregivers to monitor the amount of time spent on social media and screens and encourage healthy habits. Encouraging outdoor activities, face-to-face interactions, and finding other hobbies can help mitigate the negative effects of social media and screen time. By providing balanced and healthy lifestyles, children and teens can enjoy social media without the detrimental effects on their mental health.
