What Kids Say is Impacting Them Negatively

Late last year, the Pew Research Center conducted a survey of almost fourteen hundred teens, ages thirteen to seventeen, to come to an understanding of our teenagers’ experiences and attitudes around social media and their mental health. One of the most interesting findings is one that helps us to understand that the world has changed since we were kids, and that there are aspects of their lives that are foreign to us. When asked to list the one thing that they think most negatively impacts teen mental health, the top five things teens listed are these: twenty two percent said social media. At number two, was bullying, mentioned by seventeen percent. At number three was pressures and expectations, mentioned by sixteen percent. Coming in at four was general technology, at eight percent. And finally, only five percent mentioned school. It’s interesting that every one of these pressures is ramped up by spending time online. Doesn’t it make sense that we establish time limits for social media use?