By now, we’ve all surely witnessed the unwanted side effects of excessive screen time in children. Generation Z, born in roughly 1995-2012, grew up enmeshed in online culture. Their successors in Generation Alpha essentially exited the womb with a tablet computer in their hands.
Last week, the Texas House of Representatives passed House Bill 186, which would require social media companies to verify a user’s age when they sign up for an account. If the bill becomes law, tech companies will be penalized if they knowingly allow children on their platforms.
The question of how best to protect children from the harmfulness of social media has been a contentious one. Critics fear that social media bans for children are a slippery slope to digital IDs and infringing on the rights of adults. Many believe it should be up to parents alone to determine what is appropriate for their child.
While I share these concerns about privacy and governmental overreach, the amount of time children spend on these sites, the content they are watching, and the cognitive and emotional aftermath are culminating in a trainwreck that can’t be dismissed. The average 8- to 12-year-old spends up to six hours a day on screens, and about 40% of children in this age range use social media. By the teenage years, kids are racking up an average of nine hours a day of screen time.
Many parents aren’t fully aware of what their little ones are being exposed to on these platforms. Adults are surprised when I tell them about the ease with which children view pornography and graphic depictions of violence, depression-related ideation, eating disorders, and illicit substance use. Children also frequently experience bullying and sexual grooming from strangers. Even if parents are aware of these risks and monitor and limit a child’s access accordingly, the malignance of social media isn’t something with which a child should have to contend.
Increased screen time in adolescents is associated with mental health problems such as anxiety, depression, autism spectrum disorder, and decreased neuropsychological functioning, including problems with attention and impulsivity. Detractors believe that only children with underlying vulnerabilities will become a statistic, but I disagree. If a child’s developing brain is being wired to respond to a screen, how will they exist in a world that is populated with other human beings?
To be sure, the six hours of daily screen time I cited earlier aren’t being spent learning educational material. After the pandemic, Gen Alpha, whose oldest members are 12 years old, exhibits increased rates of illiteracy, screen dependence, an inability to focus, problems self-soothing when frustrated, and misbehavior so severe that countless exhausted teachers are quitting their profession.
We need to move away from social media being the status quo. A ban for minors sends a wider message that these platforms aren’t appropriate for children’s consumption. For adults who are concerned about their personal privacy, the simplest solution would be to delete their profiles.
Indeed, a working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research found that deactivating social media accounts such as Facebook and Instagram for six weeks was associated with an increase in happiness and a reduction in depression and anxiety. Tragically, however, the study’s researchers found that users who deactivated their accounts spent their newly freed-up time using other smartphone apps.
In a few years, I foresee young adults lamenting wasted childhoods spent scrolling through mindless content instead of investing in meaningful experiences, friendships, and healthy activities such as exercising and sleeping properly. Many tech-savvy youth believe they will be able to parlay their life online into a steady source of income, through being an influencer or a video game streamer. While this may be true, no amount of money can compensate for inner turmoil and emptiness.
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As an experiment, at the start of this year, I quit social media for two months. Without exaggeration, it was the greatest thing: My productivity increased, and my mind was clearer. I gained a deeper understanding of how and why our society has become so distracted, angry, and divided.
I believe most of us have forgotten what life was like prior to installing these apps on our phones — to the extent that some are now arguing for a child’s right to make life more difficult for themselves.
Dr. Debra Soh is a sex neuroscientist and the author of The End of Gender. Follow her @DrDebraSoh and visit DrDebraSoh.com.