Social media and screen time in general is not good for anyone’s mental or cognitive health. I don’t know how many studies we need to show this and when will regulators finally take action on this topic. Here is yet another piece of research on over 10,500 adolescents. It found that children who possessed a smartphone at age 12 were more likely to be depressed, obese and to not sleep well than children who did not. The younger they age at which they acquired a cell phone, the more likely they were to have these negative effects. And children who acquired a cell phone at age 13 after not possessing one, were also more likely to be depressed and have sleep issues. For God’s sake, don’t give your adolescent a smartphone and keep them away from yours or friends. If they can read show them this and other research. Explain to them that all having a smartphone and access to social media and texts does is keep them from a life in the real world, with in-person friendships and interactions. It promotes all kinds of negative behavior and emotion–people get bullied, mocked, ridiculed, treated like weirdos, and some teens do that kind of stuff to other teens. Nothing good comes from it. And the reason social media isn’t banned is that TikTok, Facebook and others make huge contributions to politicians. It is sickening and they deserve all the lawsuits they get. (AAP Article)
