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Social Media Divides Teens and Parents, Reports Reveal
By Movieguide® Contributor
As negative effects of social media use continue to come to light, many studies have revealed the emotional disconnect that it creates between teens and their parents.
“We are seeing a surge of mental health concerns and general fragility in the culture, especially in younger people,” said attorney Theresa Sidebotham, who advises schools and churches on youth suicide prevention. “Addictive social media takes them on a downward spiral. This plays out in high anxiety, lack of toughness, increased suicide rates and many other symptoms.”
“The growing absence of in-person relationships leads young people to lack empathy and falsely believe they are alone in the universe, said Phil Bradfield, a counselor and clinical director at WinShape Homes, a Christian foster care program started by the founders of Chick-fil-A restaurants,” the Washington Times reported.
The problem points to teens and parents, who both struggle emotionally. Teens spend a lot of their time on unhealthy social media habits. According to a therapist at the national company Grow Therapy, parents are too busy, overwhelmed, or too unaware of the dangers to restrict their teen’s media use and build better relationships with them.
Pew Research found that “Many teens also believe there is a disconnect between parental perceptions of social media and teens’ lived realities. Some 39% of teens say their experiences on social media are better than parents think, and 27% say their experiences are worse. A third of teens say parents’ views are about right.”
A study at California State University points out that mobile use has taken away an important part of relational communication between parents and teens: “Parents and children no longer have conversations face to face but rather will text each other, even when they are only a short distance away or within the same house.” This limits eye contact and undivided attention that teens and children need for healthy emotional development.
“According to mental health experts, such findings highlight the reality that more adults have outsourced their parenting to virtual babysitters, leaving young people to face anxiety and depression on their own, “ the Washington Times noted. “They point to research showing that children who use the virtual world as a primary source of relationships are more likely to be stunted emotionally.”
These stunted emotions cause teens to feel isolated and question their worth and place in society.
The Washington Times reported, “In a survey of parents and their adolescent children released Oct. 27, Gallup found U.S. teens spent an average of 4.8 hours a day on at least one of seven social media applications this year: YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WeChat and WhatsApp.”
“The polling company found that 41% of teens who use these apps for 5 or more hours a day reported feeling intense anger, anxiety and depression that increased their suicide risks,” the source continued. “By comparison, only 23% of those who spent less than two hours daily on the apps experienced those negative emotions.”
Movieguide® previously reported on how social media increases violence among teens:
“When the pandemic led officials to close civic hubs such as schools, libraries and rec centers for more than a year, people — especially young people — were pushed even further into virtual space,” ProPublica [said], explaining why homicides have increased in recent years.
“There’s been a 91% increase between 2014 and 2021—91% increase in homicides among 15- to 19-year-olds,” Alec MacGillis told NPR…
“We are dealing with young people who don’t have great self-esteem, and this ‘love’ they are getting on social media can fill some of that void,” [Rev. Cornell Jones, a group violence intervention coordinator for Pittsburgh] expressed. “But it can end with them getting shot or going to the penitentiary.”
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