Are there reasons that drive young people to reduce their use of social media?

- After parents thought that nothing could drive young people to reduce their use of social media, there may be an idea worth trying. A study published in the JAMA Health Forum earlier this month found that teenagers and young adults who saw warnings that social media could harm their health reported a decrease in their urge to use it and became more aware of its potential consequences.

This national study included participants aged 13 to 17 and others aged 18 to 29, who were presented with messages indicating that social media has not been proven safe, can lead to addiction, provides a negative body image, causes sleep disorders, depression, anxiety, and general harm to mental health. Participants from both age groups reported that all the messages used in the study were effective.

The lead author of the study, Dr. Thomas Robinson, the Irving Schulman Professor of Child Health and Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine at Stanford University, stated that warnings related to mental health in general, as well as depression and anxiety, were the most convincing. He added that participants also saw messages encouraging them to take voluntary breaks from social media, but these were less effective.

Robinson noted that a limitation of the study was that it asked participants to predict their behavior instead of measuring what they actually did. He added that the same questions were posed in other studies, which have proven reliable in predicting behavior.

Considering the push for regulating social media, Robinson mentioned that this is the first time a study has measured the impact of warnings related to social media. Since they appear to be convincing, concerned parents about the impact of social media on their children may consider urging elected officials to enact legislation and establish regulations that could include these types of warnings.

Robinson pointed out that the responsibility of dealing with the potential harms of social media should not fall solely on parents and children. This study comes in the wake of a historic agreement reached by Meta in August, in which it agreed to pay $18 billion to settle multiple state lawsuits accusing it of designing its platforms in a way that causes addiction in children and harms their mental health.

The parent company of Facebook and Instagram did not admit to any wrongdoing, stating that ensuring the safety of teenagers is a priority for them. Robinson said the settlement represents a "turning point, because I believe it is the first time momentum has been built towards pushing for broader regulation and legislation."

Talk to your children, but it is unlikely that warnings alone will reduce young people's use of social media. Dr. Melissa Greenberg, a clinical psychologist and founder of the Princeton Center for Psychotherapy in New Jersey, who is not involved in the new study, said, "If a warning appears that you haven't seen before, the person will stop and think about it."

However, she noted that the novelty of these warnings will eventually fade, pointing out that people "stop noticing things that are constantly in front of them." She added that social media affects children in different ways, so they need different types of warnings.

For example, a teenager may need a specific conversation about body image or violent scenes they see online. For this reason, she said that if you choose to allow your children to use social media, it is good to maintain an ongoing dialogue with them.

Greenberg believes that discussions should start at a younger age than one might expect, perhaps at seven or eight years old, adding: "Children are usually a step ahead of adults in these matters." She suggested starting by asking your children if they have heard about social media.

And if the answer is yes, then it's time to talk to them about it. Even if you haven't discussed it at home, children may encounter social media at their friends' houses, or they may come across games they can see in the library, or someone may tell them about an activity outside of school where their pictures are posted on social media.

If your child is using social media, make sure to regularly ask them about their experience with it, noting that discussions often focus on how much time children spend in front of screens, rather than on the content they are viewing. Greenberg suggested asking your child questions like: "What are you doing?"

She explained that it is important to consider that children may not have the words to express what social media is actually doing to them. They may not realize that their pursuit of likes on their posts is causing them anxiety or making them feel upset because they think no one likes them.

For this reason, it is important to continue talking to them. Don't worry that it will have a reverse effect; remember the film and book "Thank You for Smoking," which revolves around a main character representing tobacco companies, who wants to tell children that their parents don't want them to smoke, believing that this will make them want to smoke more.

Greenberg was asked if there is a risk that parents discussing the warnings in this study with their children could lead to a desire for rebellion through the use of social media. She added that she has not heard of this happening during any of the lectures she has given to parents across the country on how to deal with their children's use of social media.

Greenberg stated that young people who are addicted to social media may drift away and lose track of time, just like adults. She added that children are likely not to see using it as a means of rebellion against their parents, as their parents use it too.

Now that we know that warnings can be effective, I recommend talking to your children about the potential harms of social media use, and also speaking with elected officials. Many of us would appreciate getting help in dealing with the effects of social media on our children.