Where Do Kids Turn for Mental health Info?

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 concerning findings to me is that thirty-four percent of our kids say they go to social media to get mental health information, with sixty-three percent of the kids surveyed saying that social media is an important source for information about mental health. My concern is fueled by the fact that even though one can find good advice on social media, it is also a source of misinformation, and even the kind of bad information that can encourage kids to embrace and lean into things like gender confusion, immoral sexual practices, and body dysmorphia. Parents, prepare your kids with warnings about what they might find on the internet, along with constant encouragement to come to you so that together you might get the proper needed help.