A high school student explains her generation’s complex relationship with the Web.
We’re in the midst of a teen mental health crisis and social media just might be the culprit. On May 3, Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued a 19-page advisory warning that while social media can be beneficial to some, it also poses “a profound risk of harm to the mental health and well-being of children.” The Surgeon General has called for policy makers, media companies and parents to step in, take responsibility and to “protect kids now.”
While this is a hot topic, it’s certainly not a new one: As a 16-year-old high school student, I’ve sat through endless school assemblies focused on social media’s impact and downfalls. I’ve also seen friends, male and female, struggle with isolation, low self-esteem, depression, and poor body image. It’s difficult, though, to point a finger directly at social media for causing, say, a friend’s struggle with an eating disorder. Was it related to their upbringing? Genetics? Bullying by classmates? Or was it all those “What I Eat in a Day” videos they saw on TikTok?
Through silly TikTok clips, Instagram posts, and nonstop messaging on Snapchat, social media has become an integral part of life: It’s difficult for me to go an hour without checking my DMs or scrolling past educational or cringe-worthy content. Social media keeps us up to date on the latest trends, current events, and even Taylor Swift’s love life, but all this interconnectedness is a double-edged sword. An old school phone call? Why bother, when you can easily spill the latest gossip through a quick text on Snapchat? In-person conversations? Nah, a text will do. And when a group of teens is out for dinner together, they’re just as likely to be gazing into their phones, posting Insta Stories of their spicy tuna rolls, as they are to be actually talking.
While Dr. Murthy’s rightly concerned with how much time young people spend on social media, this is life as we know it in 2023: we’re a technologically hyper-connected but socially disconnected generation. Dr. Murthy’s advisory recommends minimum maturity standards and promotes constructive family conversations, in an effort to balance the benefits and risks of social media. I do think there should be age restrictions on access to social media, and I agree with the bipartisan Senate bill barring accounts for children under 13 — for teens between the ages of 13 and 18, it’d require parental consent to create an account, and platforms would be restricted from recommending content for these users.
Requiring parental consent just might encourage important family discussions, and allow parents to decide whether their child is mature enough to scroll through the endless temptations of Instagram. Parent-child communication is key: I recall when my sister and I first got iPhones, we had to sign an agreement, written in purple Sharpie by my mom, that we’d use our newfound privilege responsibly (i.e. not text when we crossed the street, do our homework with our phones in a different room). I reluctantly signed on the dotted line, but now I see why she had cause to worry.
Although I agree that parents should have control over their child’s social media, I think that limiting recommended content — the way Instagram suggests accounts for users to follow — is concerning, since I think it’s one of the most valuable aspects of social media. Those all-powerful algorithms have offered up so many useful things for me: I’ve learned about the latest Taylor Jenkins Reid books, gotten introduced to Gilmore Girls, and mastered new tap dances. However, I’m acutely aware that harmful content can also be part of targeted recommendations. That’s where maturity and resiliency come into play again.
The Surgeon General is advocating for all participants in this big business — including technology companies and policy makers — to fully understand social media’s potential harm to young people’s psyches. And I’ve experienced that potential firsthand.
TikTok and Instagram have offered me the excitement of spotting new trends and the angst of missing out and feeling lesser-than: On social media, it’s all too easy to get caught up in over-filtered images, the constant need for validation, and the portrayal of idealized lifestyles. It’s also very easy to confuse friends and likes for real friendships. There’s even the potential for my online life to damage my IRL one: On Instagram, I frequently post in Stories and tag friends — and sometimes accidentally leave a few friends out, then worry they’re going to feel hurt. I’ve felt excluded when seeing friends together without me, or even caught myself spying on their real-time locations on Snap Map. Riding the emotions on this social media rollercoaster isn’t easy.
While the Surgeon General’s warning and recommendations are a step in the right direction, we need a more complex national discussion — involving teens, parents, technology companies, and lawmakers — to properly address social media’s impact on my generation. Freedom of expression, technological innovation, and corporate profits shouldn’t be the sole considerations when it comes to social media. By not elevating the conversation around the way it can be misused, are we leading a generation of future leaders toward a teenage wasteland of isolation, anxiety, and depression? There’s likely no perfect solution or answer — just a hyper-speed stream of clicks and likes, and a never-ending debate.
Sophia Paley is a New Yorker and senior at the Horace Mann School. As lifelong tap dancers, Sophia and her sister Ava created the international charity www.Donate2Dance.org with the mission of helping dancers in need; follow along @Donate2Dance.
