Is your teen spending more time living in a digital world than the real one? With teens spending countless hours online each day, it’s crucial to understand a teen’s mental health. This blog post from Hanley Foundation will guide you in essential conversations about the link between excessive social media use and teen mental health.
SUMMARY: Healthy social media use provides teens with community, connection, and support, fostering belonging and enhancing well-being. Yet, excessive use can cause constant notification checking, neglect of responsibilities, mood swings, sleep issues, social withdrawal, low self-esteem, reduced activity, FOMO, privacy risks, and addiction symptoms, negatively affecting mental health. Parents should observe changes to detect issues like anxiety, depression, academic decline, and cyberbullying while promoting open communication for effective support.
Healthy Social Media Use
Social media offers several benefits for teens seeking connection and support. It provides a platform for like-minded individuals to come together, fostering a sense of community and belonging. Teens can find peers who share their interests, hobbies, or challenges, enabling them to form supportive networks. These online connections can be particularly valuable for those who feel isolated or struggle to find similar support in their immediate environment. Additionally, social media allows teens to stay in touch with friends and family, maintain relationships, and access diverse perspectives and resources, enhancing their social and emotional well-being.
Unhealthy Social Media Use
Here are some characteristics of teens who use social media excessively:
- Constantly Checking Notifications: Your teen frequently checks their device for updates, likes, and comments.
- Neglecting Responsibilities: Your teen ignores schoolwork, chores, or other responsibilities due to time spent online.
- Mood Swings: They experience anxiety, frustration, or moodiness when unable to access social media.
- Sleep Disturbances: They stay up late or wake up during the night to use social media.
- Social Withdrawal: Your teen prefers online interactions over face-to-face conversations with family and friends.
- Low Self-Esteem: They compare themselves to others online, leading to feelings of inadequacy or low self-worth.
- Decreased Physical Activity: They spend less time on physical activities or outdoor play.
- Fear of Missing Out (FOMO): They feel anxious about missing updates or events on social media.
- Privacy Concerns: They share personal information online without considering the potential risks.
- Addiction Symptoms: Your teen shows signs of dependency, such as irritability or distress when unable to access social media.
How Social Media Harms Mental Health
Parents may discover indicators of poor mental health in their teens’ use of social media by observing changes in behavior, mood, and daily habits. Teenagers may experience increased anxiety, depression, or irritability, leading to withdrawal from family and friends. They may lose interest in previously enjoyed hobbies, exhibit signs of sleep difficulty, or have fluctuations in appetite and weight. Academic performance may suffer, as they may begin to strugglewith concentration. Cyberbullying can exacerbate these symptoms, so parents should look for indicators like abrupt distress after using social media, secretive online behavior, or a reluctance to discuss their online contacts. Open communication is essential; parents should encourage teenagers to discuss their experiences and thoughts while providing a supportive and nonjudgmental environment to resolve concerns.
Risk of Self-Harm or Suicide
Online social networking time leads to greater exposure and engagement in self-harm behavior in teens, according to studies. In depressed teens, it can also increase psychological distress and suicidal ideation.
Researchers also say social networking and poor mental health may be bidirectional since it’s a way for teens who are self-harming and suicidal to reach out and get support.
Youth with mental health concerns spend more time on social media to communicate their thoughts and seek social support. If they receive negative advice encouraging self-harm, this can harm their mental health. As a result, parents, caregivers, and teachers need to watch what kids do online.
Risk of Substance Use to Cope with Unmet Mental Health Needs
Parents may be unaware that their teen is using substances or developing a substance use disorder (SUD) as a coping mechanism for unmet mental health needs because the symptoms are subtle and easily misinterpreted as typical adolescent behavior. Teens frequently conceal their difficulties, prompting parents to blame changes in mood, behavior, or academic performance on typical adolescent stress or rebellion. Furthermore, kids may isolate themselves or withdraw emotionally, making it difficult for parents to identify underlying difficulties. Without open communication, parents may overlook signals of substance abuse, such as secretive conduct, changes in friend groups, or unexplained health issues, mistaking them for typical developmental changes.
Talking to Your Teen About Social Media and Mental Health
Here are talking points for parents who recognize their teen’s mental health has changed:
- Express Concern and Love: Begin the conversation by expressing your genuine concern for their well-being and reinforcing your unconditional love and support. Let them know you are there to help, not judge.
- Discuss Observed Changes: Share specific observations about changes in their behavior, mood, or physical health that have raised your concerns. Use concrete examples to illustrate your points without sounding accusatory.
- Link Social Media Use to Mental Health: Explain how social media can affect mental health, including worsening anxiety, depression, or other emotional issues.
- Offer Support and Solutions: Suggest seeking professional help together, such as counseling or a support group, to address underlying mental health issues. Highlight the benefits of professional guidance in managing their struggles.
- Create an Open Dialogue: Encourage your teen to share their feelings and experiences openly. Ask open-ended questions and listen without interrupting, showing empathy and understanding. Reinforce that you are a team working together to find solutions.
- Seek Professional Help: If your teen expresses self-harm, suicidal thoughts, or substance use, seek professional help immediately.
Hanley Foundation is devoted to reshaping the narrative of addiction through prevention, advocacy, treatment, and recovery. As Florida’s largest prevention service provider, we have positively impacted Florida’s communities through our comprehensive prevention education programs. Our treatment programs, Hanley Center and Headwaters, offer private, confidential, and personalized addiction and mental health care in a tranquil tropical setting that promotes healing and recovery.
