I read this recent article about how social media platforms like Instagram do not have any impact on teen mental health via The Verge and it got my blood boiling a bit. Research is not required to see the negative impacts of the content viewed via the vast social media platforms. The same platforms who created “hacks” to engage our attention via constant push notifications to always reopen the app to view more content. To say there are no negative impacts and Mark Zuckerberg’s own kids do not use his platforms says all you need to know. Here’s a summary of the article. 

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is pushing back against claims that social media directly harms teen mental health. In an interview with The Verge, he argued that the majority of high-quality research doesn’t establish a broad causal connection between social media use and poor mental health. This mirrors statements he made in front of Congress earlier this year.

Zuckerberg acknowledged that social media can have both positive and negative effects but emphasized that empowering parents with tools to manage their children’s usage is the best approach. Meta has already implemented changes, including more private accounts for teens on Instagram and additional parental controls for both Instagram and Messenger.

Concerns around the impact of social media on teens heightened after the release of the Facebook Papers in 2021, which suggested Meta was aware of potential negative effects on younger users. US lawmakers are now pushing for stricter age-gating measures, including proposals to apply warning labels to platforms.

While Zuckerberg remains skeptical about the direct link between social media and mental health, he did express support for following government regulations on child safety if new laws are passed. He also called for app store owners, like Google and Apple, to take greater responsibility for age verification.

Meta continues to focus on rolling out features aimed at reducing potential harms, such as Instagram’s “Sleep Mode,” which restricts notifications for teens at night. However, Zuckerberg believes that distractions from push notifications, rather than the platforms themselves, might play a larger role in mental health issues.

How to manage Social Media on your child’s device

Many of the popular social media apps have recently added their own proprietary time controls, such as Instagram, but leveraging a dedicated parental control app with app controls to manage time with daily app limits or device schedules can be a great way to still allow time spent on social media and other apps but keep it within a healthy boundary for your family’s needs.

Consider Boomerang Parental Control, an app designed to Android devices and provides per app controls such as blocking, encouraging and daily time allowances. Get it from Google Play.