Social media use is a normal part of life for many youth. Since most youth continue to use social media in adulthood, it is important to help them think about their habits and usage early on. Helping them use these platforms in a healthy way takes more than just paying attention to how much time they spend on social media. Research has shown that the reasons a person is using social media can impact their mental health more than just the number of minutes or hours spent online. Therefore, talking to youth about their social media behaviors and use is important. Start by talking to them when they are not absorbed in using social media. This can help prevent the feeling that they are being accused of doing something wrong and will potentially lead to a more productive talk. Beyond asking how much time they are on social media, the following are examples of questions to ask youth.

What are you doing while on social media?

Social media can be used to stay in touch with friends and family and help your child connect to important people in their life. Social media use becomes unhealthy when a person logs in because of an emotional connection to the platform itself. For example, you could ask youth if they are interacting with friends or family posts, watching influencer videos, or keeping up with local or national news events. There is a difference between using social media to communicate with friends and using it as a distraction from tasks they do not want to do or think about, such as chores or schoolwork. Keep in mind that this could be the first time your child is thinking about if they are using social media as a distraction. Be patient and listen to their thoughts before giving your perspective.

Are you stressed or anxious when you cannot use social media?

It is normal for children to want to spend time on social media because they enjoy the content and keeping in touch with friends. However, if your child gets overly angry, sad, or anxious when they are away from social media, that can mean that they have an unhealthy connection to it. It is important not to normalize phone or social media addiction.

Is social media use getting in the way of everyday activities?

Data shows that teenagers have daily use of social media. If using social media is getting in the way of everyday activities, such as schoolwork or in-person activities, that can be an indicator of unhealthy social media use. If youth are often late for school or events because of social media scrolling, this is also an indicator that boundaries need to be put in place.

Summary

It is important to regularly check in with youth and work together to set boundaries for their social media use. Taking the time to support them in understanding how they use social media can help them create healthy social media habits and decrease the risk of developing mental health issues related to addictive social media use.