The Parent Perspective : Social Media Addiction and Adolescents

Dear Parents,

Forty percent of children ages 8 to 12 and forty-five percent of teens ages 13 to 17 use social media daily. Fifty percent of 11- to 17-year-olds report using their phones for more than four- and one-half hours a day, with an average use of fifty-one times a day. Forty-four percent of 16- and 17-year-olds use their phones over one hundred times a day.

Young people who spend over three hours a day on social media have a higher risk of exhibiting signs of mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety. Social media addiction also increases the risk of drug use.

So, what can parents do? Have access to your child’s passwords and usernames for all platforms, emails, and phone access. Check the social media apps on your child’s devices. Monitor the history of websites and social media platforms. Set limits of time spent on the phone and check the phone randomly. Develop a family plan for everyone on the amount of usage, don’t allow phones at meals or after a certain time in the evening. Most important of all, parents should model appropriate phone use.

Warmest regards,

S.A.R.A. Coalition