Why do I need a Smartphone? Teens with Problemal Social-Media Use may be Unprepared for their First Year’s Epidemic

Parents might want to take a smartphone away if they feel their child’s engagement with social media is problematic. But research6 suggests that reactive restrictions such as this, as opposed to preventive measures, might not be the best strategy. The teen needs social media in their daily life and doesn’t want to be alone. They may be usingWhatsApp to reach classmates and teachers. It might be better for the parent to focus on regain control over social-media use and to plan it with their child. I think it is not very likely that specific interventions will help adolescents with problematic social-media use, because the field is still developing criteria that is problematic.

I do not want to state that intensive use does not worry me. In another study, we distinguished between three groups: normative users, who show one or no symptoms; at-risk users, who show 2–5 addiction symptoms; and problematic users, who show 6–9 symptoms2. The Netherlands has a high concentration of youngsters in the middle at-risk group. We see that these adolescents experience more problems with sleep, mental health and school. We can say from our research that the more symptoms of addiction that an adolescent has, the higher the probability of experiencing these issues. So, although the percentage of adolescents that show problematic use is low, when a few symptoms are present there is still reason for concern.

For other indicators of well-being, the findings were more nuanced. Life satisfaction was found to be higher for intensive users in countries where the percentage was high in the adolescent population. In countries where intensive use was uncommon, intensive users report less life satisfaction than do non-intensive users.

The statistics are not good. In the past year, nearly 1 in 3 teen girls reports seriously considering suicide. One in 5 teens identifying as LGBTQ+ say they attempted suicide in that time. Depression rates for teens doubled between 2009 and 2019. It was before the COVID-19 epidemic. The question is: Why now?

“Our brains, our bodies, and our society have been evolving together to shape human development for millennia… The American Psychological Association’s chief science officer told the Senate Judiciary Committee that portable technology and social media platforms are changing what took 60,000 years to evolve. “We are just beginning to understand how this may impact youth development.”

“Digital platforms can provide an important space for self-discovery and expression, and can help marginalized teens forge meaningful relationships that may buffer and protect them from the effects of stress”, said Prinstein.

Humans are social creatures, and we learn through social interaction. Over the course of 40 years, numerous studies have found that children’s interactions with peers have a lasting effect on their occupational status, salary, relationship success and even mental health. The effects are more powerful than the effects of children’s IQ, economic status, and educational attainment.

You ask, what is the right kind? According to Prinstein, it’s interactions and relationship-building “characterized by support, emotional intimacy, disclosure, positive regard, reliable alliance (e.g., ‘having each other’s backs’), and trust.”

“Research suggests that young people form and maintain friendships online. These relationships often afford opportunities to interact with a more diverse peer group than offline, and the relationships are close and meaningful and provide important support to youth in times of stress.”

That’s because, as children enter puberty, the areas of the brain “associated with our craving for ‘social rewards,’ such as visibility, attention, and positive feedback from peers” tend to develop well before the bits of the brain “involved in our ability to inhibit our behavior, and resist temptations,” Prinstein said. Social media platforms that give rewards for likes and followers can be used to feed that craving.

Research shows that the content on social media sites has promoted the idea of engaging in these behaviors, hiding the actions from adults, and sanctioning those who express a desire for less risky behavior.

“A research shows that when exposed to illegal, dangerous imagery in the brains of adolescents, the prefrontal cortex activity was observed suggesting healthy prohibition towards maladaptive behaviors,” he said.

Prinstein warned lawmakers that “victimization, harassment, and discrimination against racial, ethnic, gender, and sexual minorities is frequent online and often targeted at young people. The level of threats and self- harm on social media has gone up for the LGBTQ+ youth.

And online bullying can take a terrible physical toll, Prinstein said: “Brain scans of adults and youths reveal that online harassment activates the same regions of the brain that respond to physical pain and trigger a cascade of reactions that replicate physical assault and create physical and mental health damage.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “youth who report any involvement with bullying behavior are more likely to report high levels of suicide-related behavior than youth who do not report any involvement with bullying behavior.”

There was a video of a student’s attack on a New Jersey girl that was posted on social media where she took her own life.

How we look on social media and how we feel about it: What we like, what we don’t, and how our stomachs look

Adults can feel it. We compare ourselves to other people on social media based on who likes them and who doesn’t, but we also look at how we look, and how our stomachs look, because it’s what we get “likes” on. For teens, the impacts of such comparisons can be amplified.

“Psychological science demonstrates that exposure to this online content is associated with lower self-image and distorted body perceptions among young people. “Exposure creates strong risk factors for eating disorders, unhealthy weight-management behaviors, and depression.”

According to research, more than 50% of adolescents are on screens before bed, which can keep them from getting the sleep they need. Poor sleep is linked to many things, including poor performance in school and trouble regulating stress, and it’s also associated with changes in brain development in adolescence. In other words, youths’ preoccupation with technology and social media may deleteriously affect the size of their brains,” Prinstein said.