*** PHOTO Credit: TeenSafe.com

Humans are social beings who need connections.  The power of social media has created our world into smaller fragments and we can not only connect easier but we can connect with parts of the world that we would never have before.  In that, I applaud Mark Zuckerberg; Tom Anderson; and Jack Dorsey and so many more who have followed in their footsteps to create a more connected world.  

Yet, although there are wonderous things about social media, there are extreme dangers.  As a teenager in the 90's and early 2000's we were lucky enough not to grow up with social media in our face.  We all have insecurities as pre-teens and teenagers and back when I was a teenager, usually bullying occurred by someone name calling; passing notes about you; or calling your house phone and hanging up; tire slashing, etc.  

Now, suicide is the 2nd leading cause of deaths among teens.  Kids ages 10 and older have social media at the palm of their hands and with a snap of a photo or a click of a button and cyber bullying has become an extremely dangerous part of teenagers, which plays a huge part on their insecurities.

According to a new federal report, suicide rates for middle school students doubled from 2007 to 2014. Psychologist and CEO of the Technology Wellness Center Dr. Lisa Strohman tells The Doctors that many of suicides can be linked to the constant use and exposure to technology. She shares an alarming new statistic: the average age a child gets their first cell is at 6 years old.  Dr. Strohman goes on to explain that the bombardment of tech in our kids lives “pulls them away from interpersonal relationships, empathy, understanding how to interact with others and they’re getting this constant negative data from friends, [who are] judging them, making fun of them. It is really terrifying.”

According to an article “How Using Social Media Affects Teenagers” by Rachel Ehmke, experts worry that the social media and text messages that have become so integral to teenage life are promoting anxiety and lowering self-esteem.  Dr. Steiner-Adair agrees that girls are particularly at risk. “Girls are socialized more to compare themselves to other people, girls in particular, to develop their identities, so it makes them more vulnerable to the downside of all this.” She warns that a lack of solid self-esteem is often to blame.

Adolescence has always been a self-esteem minefield. But today’s teenagers struggle with uniquely modern attacks on their mental health. Social networking sites makes it easier for bullies to hide behind avatars and harass their victims well past school hours. Popularity is now quantified by the number of friends, likes, and comments one garners, all of which are open to public scrutiny. Add that to the usual pressure from parents, teachers, and an increasingly competitive college admissions process and you’ve got a powder-keg of angst.

This contagion has given rise to suicide clusters (defined as an unusually high number of suicides in an area in a short period of time) in some communities. Between 2013 and 2015, 29 kids in one Colorado county, many from just a handful of schools, had killed themselves. Palo Alto saw two suicide clusters within the last seven years. Three teenage girls in a suburb of Washington, DC committed suicide within three months of each other, an alarming rate for a county that saw only 13 suicides among girls between 2003 and 2013.

Other issues with social media and teens:

·         Stalking

·         Being ignored

·         Imposters

·         The disconnect:  There’s no question kids are missing out on very critical social skills

* Facebook LIVE videos showing rapes; suicides; and murders is on the rise.  

This may be a mental health issue, but Social Media is partly to blame. 

Just like a driver’s license, drinking at 21, and voting… Social media should have an age limit.

To monitor:  Must have a valid driver’s license to register, which will register your age.

 

*** PHOTO Credit:  TeenSafe.com