You’ve seen a bunch of info about this – the warning label on social media platforms stating it’s connected to mental health problems in teens.
Me too and here’s more.
The most helpful and encouraging was from the delightful Catherine Price. Her team permitted me to share it. So here you go.
Be sure to check her out – she’s doing so much good in the world – she’s smart, funny, and worth your time. Here’s the link to the entire article: The Surgeon General Thinks Social Media Should Have a Warning Label
She talks about several ways you can take action right now and here they are. I’ve edited them to keep ‘em shorter. Go read the full article for all the details.
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Share (and talk about) the Surgeon General’s statement with your friends, fellow parents, school administrators, and your kids’ pediatrician. Encourage them to do the same. The more people who are aware that America’s top doctor believes that social media is harmful to youth mental health, the better.
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Invite other parents and caregivers to join you in pledging to delay the age at which you give your kids access to smartphones and social media. Just create a shared Google doc or spreadsheet that says, “We pledge not to give our children smartphones until at least high school or social media until they are at least 16” and invite people to sign it.
- Talk about the issue with your own kids — regardless of whether they already use social media. If they’re young enough (and/or don’t yet have social media), talk with them about some of the negative effects that occur when we compare ourselves to people we see online.
- If you start early enough, you may be able to inoculate them against even wanting to be on social media—if we can get our kids to think that social media is uncool, we will have succeeded! If they’ve got older siblings who are already on the platforms, you can also let them know that we adults have recently realized that social media is not good for kids, which is why they will not be allowed to use it till they’re older. (We do the same thing for alcohol, after all!)
Delete your (gasp) social media accounts from your phone for the week. Telling kids that social media is bad for them while simultaneously remaining tethered to our own feeds is the equivalent of telling them not to smoke while puffing on a cigarette. Let’s put our money where our mouths are: if we believe that social media is bad for mental health, then let’s all experiment with not using social media.
Just pick one to start! How about you share this email with your people? Boom. Done.
This is serious f-ing stuff – our kids (girls in particular) are truly suffering because of their social media use. You are, too. We all are!
Check out Wait Until Eighth and join a group of smart parents who will wait until their kids are headed to 9th grade before they give them smartphones. I think smartphones are a privilege, not a right. We made Milo wait until the 9th grade and then he had to pay for ½ of it. Don’t worry, he had a flip phone in the interim.
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