Social media left Shaiza Liaqat feeling isolated during her teenage years.
She compared herself to the image others presented of themselves and felt insecure.
鈥淓verything just looks too perfect. You don鈥檛 see that person struggling,鈥� Liaqat said.
Now 23 and a rising senior at Texas Wesleyan University, Liaqat still spends plenty of time on social media but knows how to better navigate her mental health. The toll social media can take on teens pushed the , a move some Tarrant County children鈥檚 mental health professionals support.
Elizabeth Brown has seen the impact of social media on young people鈥檚 mental health firsthand. Brown is a licensed professional counselor supervisor at Lena Pope, a child and family service center in Tarrant County that focuses on children鈥檚 behavioral, intellectual and emotional well-being.
鈥淩ight now, we鈥檙e in this position with social media where people just don鈥檛 realize it can be detrimental to their child鈥檚 brain development,鈥� Brown said.
The brain isn鈥檛 fully developed until a person reaches their mid-20s, according to the . Teenagers鈥� ability to think critically and have self-control is not running at full-steam, Brown said.
A Pew Research Center survey showed , with a third of them using it almost constantly.
Helping youth navigate social media
Lena Pope CEO Ashley Elgin shared ways that parents can help their children who already have social media presence.
- Walk children through scenarios. For example: You see your friends in a group message you are not included in, how are you going to react?
- Establish screen-free times.
- Keep phones away from rooms when sleeping.
- Talk about the difference between what is online and what is reality.
- Help children develop a healthy sense of self that does not include their social media presence.
Fort Worth parent Mereyda Munoz plans to keep her 8-year-old daughter off of social media until she is 16.
鈥淐hildren are so distracted on their phones,鈥� Munoz said.
Social media can negatively impact young people, Munoz said. She has seen teens act up and use language they normally wouldn鈥檛. They also are sometimes exposed to provocative content at too early of an age, she said.
Liaqat has seen social media have a positive impact through her experience as a marketing major. Social media has brought people together and has helped online-only businesses flourish, she said.
Adding a warning label to social media likely won鈥檛 be effective, Liaqat said.
鈥淚 would definitely look into the warning if it popped up on my phone, but I do not think it would affect my consumption of social media,鈥� Liaqat said.
Social media can decrease the number of face-to-face interactions a young person has, leading to a deficit in social skills and social anxiety, Brown said.
鈥淪ocial media gives adolescents an escape from difficult experiences instead of them having to learn how to find solutions and sit with the discomfort,鈥� Brown said.
Warning labels may spread awareness around these issues similar to those found on tobacco and alcohol products, according to the surgeon general. A law requiring social media warning labels has .
If warning labels become reality, Brown hopes more parents will fully understand the effects of social media.
鈥淚t is known that social media is bad for you,鈥� Brown said. 鈥淏ut the extent of it is not expressed enough.鈥�
Georgie London is a reporting fellow for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at georgie.london@fortworthreport.org. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy.
This first appeared on and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.