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Why we study this topic

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Mental health of young people: a global public-health challenge - ScienceDirect

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Mental disorders account for a large proportion of the disease burden in young people in all societies. Most mental disorders begin during youth (12-24 years of age), although they are often first detected later in life. Poor mental health is strongly related to other health and development concerns in young people, notably lower educational achievements, substance abuse, violence, and poor reproductive and sexual health.

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introduction(+&-)

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Abstract

Using social media Web sites is among the most common activity of today's children and adolescents. Any Web site that allows social interaction is considered a social media site, including social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter; gaming sites and virtual worlds such as Club Penguin, Second Life, and the Sims; video sites such as YouTube; and blogs. Such sites offer today's youth a portal for entertainment and communication and have grown exponentially in recent years. For this reason, it is important that parents become aware of the nature of social media sites, given that not all of them are healthy environments for children and adolescents. Pediatricians are in a unique position to help families understand these sites and to encourage healthy use and urge parents to monitor for potential problems with cyberbullying, "Facebook depression," sexting, and exposure to inappropriate content.

SOCIAL MEDIA USE BY TWEENS AND TEENS

Engaging in various forms of social media is a routine activity that research has shown to benefit children and adolescents by enhancing communication, social connection, and even technical skills. Social media sites such as Facebook and MySpace offer multiple daily opportunities for connecting with friends, classmates, and people with shared interests. During the last 5 years, the number of preadolescents and adolescents using such sites has increased dramatically. According to a recent poll, 22% of teenagers log on to their favorite social media site more than 10 times a day, and more than half of adolescents log on to a social media site more than once a day. Seventy-five percent of teenagers now own cell phones, and 25% use them for social media, 54% use them for texting, and 24% use them for instant messaging. Thus, a large part of this generation's social and emotional development is occurring while on the Internet and on cell phones.

Because of their limited capacity for self-regulation and susceptibility to peer pressure, children and adolescents are at some risk as they navigate and experiment with social media. Recent research indicates that there are frequent online expressions of offline behaviors, such as bullying, clique-forming, and sexual experimentation, that have introduced problems such as cyberbullying, privacy issues, and "sexting." Other problems that merit awareness include Internet addiction and concurrent sleep deprivation.

Many parents today use technology incredibly well and feel comfortable and capable with the programs and online venues that their children and adolescents are using. Nevertheless, some parents may find it difficult to relate to their digitally savvy youngsters online for several reasons. Such parents may lack a basic understanding of these new forms of socialization, which are integral to their children's lives. They frequently do not have the technical abilities or time needed to keep pace with their children in the ever-changing Internet landscape. In addition, these parents often lack a basic understanding that kids' online lives are an extension of their offline lives. The end result is often a knowledge and technical skill gap between parents and youth, which creates a disconnect in how these parents and youth participate in the online world together.

BENEFITS OF CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS USING SOCIAL MEDIA

RISKS OF YOUTH USING SOCIAL MEDIA

Using social media becomes a risk to adolescents more often than most adults realize. Most risks fall into the following categories: peer-to-peer; inappropriate content; lack of understanding of online privacy issues; and outside influences of third-party advertising groups.

PRIVACY CONCERNS AND THE DIGITAL FOOTPRINT

The main risk to preadolescents and adolescents online today are risks from each other, risks of improper use of technology, lack of privacy, sharing too much information, or posting false information about themselves or others. These types of behavior put their privacy at risk.

When Internet users visit various Web sites, they can leave behind evidence of which sites they have visited. This collective, ongoing record of one's Web activity is called the "digital footprint." One of the biggest threats to young people on social media sites is to their digital footprint and future reputations. Preadolescents and adolescents who lack an awareness of privacy issues often post inappropriate messages, pictures, and videos without understanding that "what goes online stays online." As a result, future jobs and college acceptance may be put into jeopardy by inexperienced and rash clicks of the mouse. Indiscriminate Internet activity also can make children and teenagers easier for marketers and fraudsters to target.

INFLUENCE OF ADVERTISEMENTS ON BUYING

Many social media sites display multiple advertisements such as banner ads, behavior ads (ads that target people on the basis of their Web-browsing behavior), and demographic-based ads (ads that target people on the basis of a specific factor such as age, gender, education, marital status, etc) that influence not only the buying tendencies of preadolescents and adolescents but also their views of what is normal. It is particularly important for parents to be aware of the behavioral ads, because they are common on social media sites and operate by gathering information on the person using a site and then targeting that person's profile to influence purchasing decisions. Such powerful influences start as soon as children begin to go online and post. Many online venues are now prohibiting ads on sites where children and adolescents are participating. It is important to educate parents, children, and adolescents about this practice so that children can develop into media-literate consumers and understand how advertisements can easily manipulate them.

ON TOO YOUNG: MIXED MESSAGES FROM PARENTS AND THE LAW

Many parents are aware that 13 years is the minimum age for most social media sites but do not understand why. There are 2 major reasons. First, 13 years is the age set by Congress in the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which prohibits Web sites from collecting information on children younger than 13 years without parental permission. Second, the official terms of service for many popular sites now mirror the COPPA regulations and state that 13 years is the minimum age to sign up and have a profile. This is the minimum age to sign on to sites such as Facebook and MySpace. There are many sites for preadolescents and younger children that do not have such an age restriction, such as Disney sites, Club Penguin, and others.

It is important that parents evaluate the sites on which their child wishes to participate to be sure that the site is appropriate for that child's age. For sites without age stipulations, however, there is room for negotiation, and parents should evaluate the situation via active conversation with their preadolescents and adolescents.

In general, if a Web site specifies a minimum age for use in its terms of service, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) encourages that age to be respected. Falsifying age has become common practice by some preadolescents and some parents. Parents must be thoughtful about this practice to be sure that they are not sending mixed messages about lying and that online safety is always the main message being emphasized.

THE ROLE OF PEDIATRICIANS

Pediatricians are in a unique position to educate families about both the complexities of the digital world and the challenging social and health issues that online youth experience by encouraging families to face the core issues of bullying, popularity and status, depression and social anxiety, risk-taking, and sexual development. Pediatricians can help parents understand that what is happening online is an extension of these underlying issues and that parents can be most helpful if they understand the core issues and have strategies for dealing with them whether they take place online, offline, or, increasingly, both.

Some specific ways in which pediatricians can assist parents include:

1. Advise parents to talk to their children and adolescents about their online use and the specific issues that today's online kids face.

2. Advise parents to work on their own participation gap in their homes by becoming better educated about the many technologies their youngsters are using.

3. Discuss with families the need for a family online-use plan that involves regular family meetings to discuss online topics and checks of privacy settings and online profiles for inappropriate posts. The emphasis should be on citizenship and healthy behavior and not punitive action, unless truly warranted.

4. Discuss with parents the importance of supervising online activities via active participation and communication, as opposed to remote monitoring with a "net-nanny" program (software used to monitor the Internet in the absence of parents).

In addition, the AAP encourages all pediatricians to increase their knowledge of digital technology so that they can have a more educated frame of reference for the tools their patients and families are using, which will aid in providing timely anticipatory media guidance as well as diagnosing media-related issues should they arise.

To assist families in discussing the more challenging issues that kids face online, pediatricians can provide families with reputable online resources, including "Social Media and Sexting Tips" from the AAP ( www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/june09socialmedia.htm), the AAP Internet safety site ( http://safetynet.aap.org), and the AAP public education site, HealthyChildren.org ( www.healthychildren.org/english/search/pages/results.aspx?Type=Keyword&Keyword=Internet+safety), and encourage parents to discuss these resources with their children. Pediatricians with Web sites or blogs may wish to create a section with resources for parents and children about these issues and may suggest a list of or links to social media sites that are appropriate for the different age groups. In this way, pediatricians can support the efforts of parents to engage and educate youth to be responsible, sensible, and respectful digital citizens.

Lead Authors

Gwenn Schurgin O'Keeffe, MD

Kathleen Clarke-Pearson, MD

Council on Communications and Media Executive Committee, 2010-2011

Deborah Ann Mulligan, MD, Chairperson

Tanya Remer Altmann, MD

Ari Brown, MD

Dimitri A. Christakis, MD

Kathleen Clarke-Pearson, MD

Holly Lee Falik, MD

David L. Hill, MD

Marjorie J. Hogan, MD

Alanna Estin Levine, MD

Kathleen G. Nelson, MD

Gwenn Schurgin O'Keeffe, MD

Past Executive Committee Members

Benard P. Dreyer, MD

Gilbert L. Fuld, MD, Immediate Past Chairperson

Victor C. Strasburger, MD

Liaisons

Michael Brody, MD

American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Brian Wilcox, PhD

American Psychological Association

Staff

Gina Ley Steiner

Veronica Laude Noland, cocm{at}aap.org

Footnotes

This document is copyrighted and is property of the American Academy of Pediatrics and its Board of Directors. All authors have filed conflict of interest statements with the American Academy of Pediatrics. Any conflicts have been resolved through a process approved by the Board of Directors. The American Academy of Pediatrics has neither solicited nor accepted any commercial involvement in the development of the content of this publication.

The guidance in this report does not indicate an exclusive course of treatment or serve as a standard of medical care. Variations, taking into account individual circumstances, may be appropriate.

All clinical reports from the American Academy of Pediatrics automatically expire 5 years after publication unless reaffirmed,revised, or retired at or before that time.

View Abstract

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The Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents, and Families

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Using social media Web sites is among the most common activity of today's children and adolescents. Any Web site that allows social interaction is considered a social media site, including social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter; gaming sites and virtual worlds such as Club Penguin, Second Life, and the Sims; video sites such as YouTube; and blogs.

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SM violence ---young people

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The influence of violent media on children and adolescents: a public-health approach - ScienceDirect

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There is continuing debate on the extent of the effects of media violence on children and young people, and how to investigate these effects. The aim of this review is to consider the research evidence from a public-health perspective. A search of published work revealed five meta-analytic reviews and one quasi-systematic review, all of which were from North America.

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FORMATION OF GROUP

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The Handbook of Children, Media, and Development

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The Handbook of Children, Media, and Development

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The handbook of children, media, and development [electronic resource]

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Health Effects of Media on Children and Adolescents

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Health Effects of Media on Children and Adolescents

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Abstract

Youth spend an average of >7 hours/day using media, and the vast majority of them have access to a bedroom television, computer, the Internet, a video-game console, and a cell phone. In this article we review the most recent research on the effects of media on the health and well-being of children and adolescents. Studies have shown that media can provide information about safe health practices and can foster social connectedness. However, recent evidence raises concerns about media's effects on aggression, sexual behavior, substance use, disordered eating, and academic difficulties. We provide recommendations for parents, practitioners, the media, and policy makers, among others, for ways to increase the benefits and reduce the harm that media can have for the developing child and for adolescents.

View Full Text

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Health Effects of Media on Children and Adolescents

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Youth spend an average of >7 hours/day using media, and the vast majority of them have access to a bedroom television, computer, the Internet, a video-game console, and a cell phone. In this article we review the most recent research on the effects of media on the health and well-being of children and adolescents.

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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20194281

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The power of social media

Social media has dramatically changed the way we communicate, and there are a lot of benefits to it. We have access to unlimited information, we can connect with people from all over the world almost immediately and we can share with other things that matter to us.

Social media is also a powerful tool in terms of motivating people to action and make social changes. It provides a platform for young people's voices to be heard allowing them to have a say on issues that matter to them. The online world has the potential to help young people to explore new concepts, manage risks and build resilience.

However, because social media has evolved so quickly and has a deep impact on the social fibre and interpersonal relationships it's important to explore the potential effects on young peoples' emotional and mental health.

What does research say about social media and mental health?

Over the past few years psychologists have begun to look at the effects of social media on mental wellbeing and a consistent finding of much of this research is that the heavy use of social media is associated with poorer mental health.

A recent University of Pittsburgh study of young adults suggested that heavy social media users were three times more likely to be depressed than occasional users. A Canadian study from the Center of Addictions and Mental Health that's examined data from over 10,000 adolescents, found that young people who use social media more than two hours per day were significantly more likely to rate their mental health as "fair" or "poor" compared with occasional users.

An overview of the research generally points to 3 main factors when it comes to why the overuse of social media can negatively impact the mental health of young people:

1. Impact on sleep

Heavy usage can have a negative impact on physical well being which in turn can affect mental health. This is particularly relevant when it comes to sleep disturbance. Several studies have linked sleep difficulties to screen time.

Whether it's the blue light of screens affecting sleep quality and quantity or the behavioural disturbances that make young people wake to check their phones reduced sleep is an important issue when it comes to mental health. Sleep is crucial for the developing adolescent brain, and lack of sleep is associated with lower mood and depression.

2. Use as life comparing tool

While social media was initially set up as means of connecting with others it is now also used as a means of comparing. It has become a barometer of how we measure up to others and this is a particular issue for young people who are socialized through the school system to 'grade' themselves in relation to their peers.

As a consequence many of the longitudinal studies done in this area suggest that we are increasingly engaging in "passive use" of social media- this is where we look at other peoples pictures and lives and compare them to our own, and it is bad for our mental health.

The nature of social media is such that most people present the highlights of their lives more regularly than the boring stuff so these highlights appear to be the norm. Indeed we tend to post when we are on a high and surf other peoples pages when we are on a low, so the differential between our real lives and the idealized lives we see on screen is further amplified leading us to feel like we can't measure up and that we are missing out. This can impact mental well-being making one feel inferior and inadequate.

3. Chasing likes on post to drive self-worth / self-esteem

If I wanted to devise a 'thinking' exercise in poor self esteem I would get someone to take dozens of pictures, edit them post them for others to evaluate and then if they don't get enough validation through likes, comments or reposts have them start all over again. This increased self-awareness and impression management that is inherent in Social Media engagement is I think the third area that impacts mental health.

Being too active on Social media and worrying about regularly posting pictures and status updates has been linked to anxiety, poor body image and diminished mental health. The constant seeking of approval from others and searching for external validation means that young people don't develop a secure sense of self that isn't dependant on arbitrary conditions of worth.

This preoccupation with how other people react to what we post on social media can lead young people to feel unsure about their value. They may start to worry about how they are seen, making them more self-critical of both their physical appearance and their lives in general. Constant posting may also open them up to receiving more negative or mean comments on line, rather than compliments or praise. Potentially they may be more at risk of being cyberbullied which has been linked to serious depression and even suicidal behaviour in extreme cases.

Talking to children about the pros & cons of social media

So, while there are of course many benefits to social media, as parents it's important that we discuss with our kids the importance of using it in a healthier way. We need to have a talk about the impact of seeking approval from an online world that doesn't really know them or comparing their lives to the edited versions of the lives they see online.

We need to talk about how it has the potential to effect sleep and therefore their health and through that help them make more informed choices about when to 'switch off' at night. Ultimately we need to remind them that social media is not the only way of being social and encourage more face to face interaction and connections, reminding them to be wary of letting online engagement get in the way of good mental health and wellbeing.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How does social media impact the mental health of young people?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The power of social media Social media has dramatically changed the way we communicate, and there are a lot of benefits to it. We have access to unlimited information, we can connect with people from all over the world almost immediately and we can share with other things that matter to us.

# data[].attributes.body
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S092099641300306X

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http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00367.x/full

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http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0093650210381738

# data[].attributes.body
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563216303673

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the content of introduction and negative aspect

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the content of introduction and negative aspect

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from:khalid

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The power of social media

Social media has dramatically changed the way we communicate, and there are a lot of benefits to it. We have access to unlimited information, we can connect with people from all over the world almost immediately and we can share with other things that matter to us.

Social media is also a powerful tool in terms of motivating people to action and make social changes. It provides a platform for young people's voices to be heard allowing them to have a say on issues that matter to them. The online world has the potential to help young people to explore new concepts, manage risks and build resilience.

However, because social media has evolved so quickly and has a deep impact on the social fibre and interpersonal relationships it's important to explore the potential effects on young peoples' emotional and mental health.

What does research say about social media and mental health?

Over the past few years psychologists have begun to look at the effects of social media on mental wellbeing and a consistent finding of much of this research is that the heavy use of social media is associated with poorer mental health.

A recent University of Pittsburgh study of young adults suggested that heavy social media users were three times more likely to be depressed than occasional users. A Canadian study from the Center of Addictions and Mental Health that's examined data from over 10,000 adolescents, found that young people who use social media more than two hours per day were significantly more likely to rate their mental health as "fair" or "poor" compared with occasional users.

An overview of the research generally points to 3 main factors when it comes to why the overuse of social media can negatively impact the mental health of young people:

1. Impact on sleep

Heavy usage can have a negative impact on physical well being which in turn can affect mental health. This is particularly relevant when it comes to sleep disturbance. Several studies have linked sleep difficulties to screen time.

Whether it's the blue light of screens affecting sleep quality and quantity or the behavioural disturbances that make young people wake to check their phones reduced sleep is an important issue when it comes to mental health. Sleep is crucial for the developing adolescent brain, and lack of sleep is associated with lower mood and depression.

2. Use as life comparing tool

While social media was initially set up as means of connecting with others it is now also used as a means of comparing. It has become a barometer of how we measure up to others and this is a particular issue for young people who are socialized through the school system to 'grade' themselves in relation to their peers.

As a consequence many of the longitudinal studies done in this area suggest that we are increasingly engaging in "passive use" of social media- this is where we look at other peoples pictures and lives and compare them to our own, and it is bad for our mental health.

The nature of social media is such that most people present the highlights of their lives more regularly than the boring stuff so these highlights appear to be the norm. Indeed we tend to post when we are on a high and surf other peoples pages when we are on a low, so the differential between our real lives and the idealized lives we see on screen is further amplified leading us to feel like we can't measure up and that we are missing out. This can impact mental well-being making one feel inferior and inadequate.

3. Chasing likes on post to drive self-worth / self-esteem

If I wanted to devise a 'thinking' exercise in poor self esteem I would get someone to take dozens of pictures, edit them post them for others to evaluate and then if they don't get enough validation through likes, comments or reposts have them start all over again. This increased self-awareness and impression management that is inherent in Social Media engagement is I think the third area that impacts mental health.

Being too active on Social media and worrying about regularly posting pictures and status updates has been linked to anxiety, poor body image and diminished mental health. The constant seeking of approval from others and searching for external validation means that young people don't develop a secure sense of self that isn't dependant on arbitrary conditions of worth.

This preoccupation with how other people react to what we post on social media can lead young people to feel unsure about their value. They may start to worry about how they are seen, making them more self-critical of both their physical appearance and their lives in general. Constant posting may also open them up to receiving more negative or mean comments on line, rather than compliments or praise. Potentially they may be more at risk of being cyberbullied which has been linked to serious depression and even suicidal behaviour in extreme cases.

Talking to children about the pros & cons of social media

So, while there are of course many benefits to social media, as parents it's important that we discuss with our kids the importance of using it in a healthier way. We need to have a talk about the impact of seeking approval from an online world that doesn't really know them or comparing their lives to the edited versions of the lives they see online.

We need to talk about how it has the potential to effect sleep and therefore their health and through that help them make more informed choices about when to 'switch off' at night. Ultimately we need to remind them that social media is not the only way of being social and encourage more face to face interaction and connections, reminding them to be wary of letting online engagement get in the way of good mental health and wellbeing.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How does social media impact the mental health of young people?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The power of social media Social media has dramatically changed the way we communicate, and there are a lot of benefits to it. We have access to unlimited information, we can connect with people from all over the world almost immediately and we can share with other things that matter to us.

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Using social media to enrich information 

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Using social media to enrich information 

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http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563216303570

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Instagram 'Worst For Young Mental Health'

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Revealed: Which is most dangerous social media platform for children to use. The study includes a league table of social media platforms according to their impact on mental health. Instagram rated worst media for mental health. The picture-focused platform puts users at risk of loneliness, depression and body image anxiety.