The use of digital technology and its effect on students has been a frequent theme in my blogs. I have cautioned parents to monitor their children’s screen use and bemoaned the potential risk that AI can have on critical thinking. Social media poses a particular risk to adolescents and teens.
Its use escalated during the pandemic, while the population was isolated. The passive use of social media as explained in a May research study, cautions, “While social media served as a coping mechanism, its passive use could contribute to negative emotional states.” The most popular of these websites for teens include YouTube (90% )TikTok (63%), Instagram (61%) and Snapchat (55%).
In 2023 the Surgeon General’s Advisory called attention to the growing concerns about the effects of social media on youth mental health.
Frequent social media use may be associated with distinct changes in the developing brain in the amygdala, and the prefrontal cortex. . .Adolescent social media use is predictive of a subsequent decrease in life satisfaction for certain developmental stages including for girls 11–13 years old and boys 14–15 years old. . . .Adolescents who spent more than 3 hours per day on social media faced double the risk of experiencing poor mental health outcomes including symptoms of depression and anxiety.
Additional evidence pointing to the negative consequences of social media on learning appeared this month in JAMA (Journal of American Medical Association). “The finding that even low levels of early adolescent social media exposure were linked to poorer cognitive performance may suggest support for stricter age restrictions.” Researchers speculate that teens who are heavy social media users have brains that are more attuned to an existence on social media, with its “rapid, constant feedback.”
The warning is clear: Social media can be dangerous to cognition and emotional health. “Omni luci est umbra” : “there is a shadow to each light”
