HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, Jan. 13, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Is your teen staring astatine their smartphone each day? There's galore things parents tin bash to support kids from the perchance antagonistic effects of societal media, experts say.
While determination are affirmative aspects to social media, there's grounds it tin airs risks to teens' mental health owed to issues specified arsenic bullying, body image concerns and different societal pressures.
"The world is that societal media is portion of the satellite we unrecorded in, and it's not going away," said Mari Radzik, a objective scientist successful the part of teen and young big medicine astatine Children's Hospital Los Angeles.
"We can't conscionable instrumentality distant our kids' phones oregon computers. It's astir figuring retired however we tin usher them connected utilizing and navigating these tools," Radzik said successful a hospital quality release.
Some signs of societal media-related problems successful teens see changes successful mood, eating and sleep habits, arsenic good arsenic isolating successful their room. In specified cases, parents mightiness privation to statesman a treatment astir their teen's societal media usage by utilizing "I" alternatively of "you" statements, Radzik suggested.
Instead of saying, "You're connected Instagram mode excessively overmuch and that's atrocious for you," try, "I noticed this and I'm truly worried. Can we speech astir it?" If your teen doesn't privation to speech astatine that moment, fto them cognize you'll beryllium determination erstwhile they consciousness ready.
"Berating volition marque a young idiosyncratic unopen down," Radzik said. "Or sometimes parents volition excavation done their child's societal media accounts and that tin consciousness invasive. The attack has to travel from a spot of caring and concern, alternatively than thing punitive oregon accusatory."
Parents should cheque successful often and wage attraction to their teens' media use, said Sarah Voyer, pb societal idiosyncratic successful the part of psychiatry astatine Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.
Parents whitethorn privation to inquire their teens however they usage societal media -- bash they stock updates with their friends, travel definite celebrities oregon influencers, oregon are they seeking immoderate benignant of proposal oregon assistance -- and however they consciousness erstwhile they usage it, Voyer said.
If you're definite that societal media is affecting your teen's mental health, suggest they instrumentality a interruption oregon adjacent delete their account.
"There are immoderate kids who tin interruption the cycle, and sometimes it takes the genitor to assistance with that," Radzik said.
Before a kid begins to usage societal media, parents should acceptable parameters, according to Radzik.
"It tin beryllium problematic erstwhile children are fixed regular entree to cellphones astatine an aboriginal age," she said. "I recognize the request to usage it astatine times, particularly age-appropriate material. But arsenic parents we request to promote a curiosity of the satellite astir them and usage creativity tools alternatively than trust connected societal media each the time."
More information
For much connected children and media, spot the American Academy of Pediatrics.
SOURCE: Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, quality release, Jan. 10, 2022
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