Key Takeaways
• Teens use social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat to connect with friends, share interests, and entertain themselves.
• Many teens spend too much time on TikTok, which can hurt their sleep and productivity.
• Parents can help by monitoring screen time and stepping in if social media use affects their child’s mental health or behavior.
Social media—as complex a concept as it might be to parents—serves a simple purpose for many teens: connection and entertainment. Now, how healthy the connection and entertainment is and if parents’ values align with them, are much more complicated questions. But it might be helpful for them to at least know, with even more precision, why their kids gravitate toward social media. And now they can, thanks to a new study from the Pew Research Center.
Pew surveyed 1,458 teenagers ages 13 to 17 and found that, in general, teens use TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat for “fun and connection.” The surveyed teens mentioned that they use the platforms for entertainment, but also for “keeping up with friends and family, and connecting with others about shared interests.”
Teens turn to TikTok for their entertainment fix more than other platforms. Meanwhile, Snapchat is where users say they go to connect with friends and family.
In terms of what kind of entertainment kids pursue on TikTok, 6 in 10 surveyed said they watch product reviews. But they also peruse both TikTok and Instagram for news and content related to their favorite celebrities.
Here’s where parents might want to prick up their ears: Teens admitted that they were most likely to spend too much time on TikTok, compared to the other platforms—even worse, 4 in 10 teens said that spending time on TikTok “hurts the amount of sleep they get,” while another 29% said that it “hurts their productivity.”
Teens have a more positive view of Snapchat, which they view as a place to strengthen and maintain their friendships. But there’s a flipside to teens’ use of Snapchat. According to the survey, 3 in 10 respondents said they had experienced “being called an offensive name, having a rumor spread about them, or being physically threatened.”
Why Parents Should Pay Attention
Interestingly, teens might not be completely aware of the fact that their use of social media might be harmful. “Across all three platforms, most teen users say it neither hurts nor helps their mental health,” the survey results explain.
That’s why parents need to be diligent observers and managers of their kids’ screen time. Often, these teens are so invested in these platforms as a way to socialize and feel as though they fit in with their peers that they might be oblivious to all the ways that it could be harming their mental health. Parents should be ready to step in when they see negative changes in behavior, drawing those boundaries when their kids aren’t able.
It seems that most parents—or at least those who responded to the survey—understand their obligation to monitor their kids’ social media diet. According to Pew, “Parents are more likely to label their teen’s screen time as ‘too much’ than teens themselves.”
If you think your teen is losing sleep or that their mental health is suffering because of social media, there are now parental controls on almost all these platforms that you can tap into. But if you’re longing for the days when long breaks from technology were still possible, you could always go the old-fashioned route and give them their very own ’90s kid summer.
Read the original article on Parents
