By Michaela Gordoni
Two years ago, Nicki Petrossi sat at a restaurant and saw all the families around her absorbed on their phones, which motivated her to start her screen awareness organization, Scrolling 2 Death.
“I was so upset. I remember thinking, ‘Is this what I have to look forward to?’ and ‘Is this what kids are like once they get phones and social media?’” Petrossi recalled.
When she got home, she did research and found that three or more hours of social media use doubles children’s risk of anxiety and depression, suicide rates in children has nearly tripled in the past few years and other alarming facts.
“How did every parent not know about all of this? How were these issues not mainstream news in every school newsletter or communicated by pediatricians? I made it my goal to make sure every parent has all the information about the threat of screens and social media before vital decisions are made in the home,” she said.
Petrossi highlighted how social media is designed to be addictive, which is especially harmful to vulnerable children. She noted a couple ways social media keeps kids hooked.
Related: Is Doomscrolling Giving Your Teen ‘Brain Rot’?
“Snapchat’s Snap Score rewards you for every consecutive day you message with “friends.” Kids compete with each other to earn higher Snap Scores. They base the strength of their friendships on these scores and feel anxiety if they miss a day,” she said.
“Shortly after Facebook launched, they realized that they could keep users coming back by ‘poking’ them (as it was first called). Notifications have since expanded, and users are often reminded to come back dozens of times per day, sometimes hundreds. Social media companies don’t want you to forget that they are there, ready to give you another dopamine hit and keep you coming back over and over and over and over.”
Research shows the younger a child is when they receive a phone, the worse their mental health outcome is later in life.
“This is why I tell every parent to DELAY SMARTPHONES. Many follow the “Wait Until 8th” pledge, which I respect. But it’s outdated,” Petrossi says.
“We should be waiting to give smartphones until kids are 18 years old. During the teen years, it is one million times safer and healthier to give your child a flip phone or a child-safe phone like Bark,” she said.
Petrossi encourages parents to have a “tech-together” mentality and monitor their child’s devices and not allow tech use in bedrooms or private spaces.
Petrossi has deep tech conversations on her “Scrolling 2 Death” podcast, where she hosts neuroscientists, ex-tech employees, authors, tech policy experts, and others concerned about tech’s effect on kids and adults.
“How to Break Up With Your Phone” author Catherine Price suggests parents give devices a “bedtime” and not use them for an hour before bed.
This avoids “the stimulating effects of blue light before bed” and helps “everyone’s brains and bodies wind down for sleep.”
Petrossi points out that as platforms like Roblox and Snapchat aren’t backing away from addicting kids, it’s important that parents step up and say no to screens.
Read Next: Scrolling Steals How Many Decades? Here’s How to Break Social Media Addiction
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