Minute Health- Social Media Use Disorder

While it hasn’t been officially classified as an addiction gambling or substance use addictions, Social Media Use Disorder, an unofficial term for people with an overreliance on social media, can have a profound effect on a child’s or teenager’s mental health and body image. Professor Tamar Mendelson, the Director of the Center for Adolescent Health, a CDC-funded Prevention Research Center, has advice on how parents can provide healthy boundaries between family time and screen time.

In an interview with Mandy Gaither, Mendelson, while praising social media’s ability to create connections and foster creativity, she also said that for developing brains, social media has major drawbacks “Including exposure to racist and sexist content, unrealistic beauty standards, disinformation, and cyberbullying,” she said.

Mendelson provided various strategies to parents to help guide parents their children away from social media use. While she understands that there’s not a one-size-fits-all approach to parenting, she suggests filling a kid’s time with technology-free activities, such as phone-free dinners and after-school sports or activities. As well, she advocates for “quality over quantity” when it comes to social interactions, encouraging positive online spaces that help affirm their identities and expand their social circle, outside of numerous online group chats and endless doomscrolling.

“This can be especially useful for young people with marginalized identities, including LGBTQ plus youth and youth with disabilities,” she said.

Another “red flag” she advises parents look out for is concerning behavior, including an increasing time spend on social media sites, especially if it’s interfering with daily tasks or activities or if they exhibit a dependance on social media.

Mendelson said persistent preoccupation is also a problem. “Those are red flags that parents and educators should pay attention to.” she said. Despite the drawbacks, she says another benefit to social media is the ability to find information for improving mental health and finding mental health support, as long as it’s from reputable sources.