Focus on the Family Magazine - October/November 2021

KIDS & TEENS / BOUNDARIES
BOUNDARIES / KIDS & TEENS
3 tips to help your
teens become
screenwise
BY JONATHAN MCKEE
NEW
FROM FOCUS ON THE FAMILY
PARENTING
GENERATION SCREEN
Jonathan McKee’s newest book encourages
you to engage kids in conversations about
social media, entertainment and screen time
to help them navigate the digital landscape.
Shop.<strong>Focus</strong>OnTheFamily.ca
GEORGERUDY / STOCK.ADOBE.COM
SIDNEY SCROLLS
THROUGH HER
INSTAGRAM FEED, a task so
habitual her thumbs almost do it
instinctively.
Megan’s dog wearing a cute sweater.
397 likes.
Amari and her boyfriend laughing
while drinking a milkshake. 492 likes.
Elena wearing a new crop top. 646
likes.
Sidney clicks to her latest post, an
artsy photo perspective of her new
Vans . . . at least she thought so anyway.
If only everyone else did.
Only 134 likes.
Her neck and shoulders tighten,
and her heart starts beating faster.
She can’t put words to the feeling
if you asked her, but most counselors
would simply call it anxiety. For
some of her friends, it has become
something more severe, and sadly
far too common. It’s the overwhelming
feeling of not being good enough,
amplified by the pressurized environment
social media create.
The mental health of young people
today has almost been narrowed
down to two words: Likes and
Followers. And most parents have no
idea what to do about it.
It’s as simple as this: Kids want
screens. And when they get screens,
they want social media because that’s
where you connect with people. And
once you get on social media, the
comparison game begins.
Why don’t I have as many likes as
Jake?
Why does Emma have so many
more followers?
Teenagers have always struggled
with feelings of insecurity, but never
before have those results been posted
for the entire world to see.
182 Likes.
165 Followers.
There’s always someone with more.
Researchers are coming to a consensus:
Today’s young people are
experiencing an unprecedented
increase of anxiety, depression and
suicidal thoughts . . . pre-COVID,
mind you. And the spike began when
social media found its way into everyone’s
back pocket.
One in five adolescent girls
experienced a major depressive episode
at some point during 2018.
That’s an 84% increase during the
past decade. And a report from
the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services revealed, suicide
rates among Americans ages 10 to
24 increased by 56% between 2007
and 2017. For some perspective, the
iPhone came out in 2007. The biggest
increases in suicide rates occurred
among the very young; the rate nearly
tripled during that time period in kids
ages 10 to 14.
And in 2020 researchers compared
their data and came to a consensus:
The hours young people spend
on social media strongly affects their
mental health, especially among girls.
They even got specific: Mental health
and happiness are the strongest when
teenagers spend just one to two hours
a day on social media. The more time
spent past two hours, mental wellbeing
decreases rapidly.
So what can Mom and Dad do
to help their kids, especially their
daughters? Here are a few tips most
researchers agree on:
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FOCUS ON THE FAMILY
OctOber / NOvember 2021
OctOber / NOvember 2021 FOCUS ON THE FAMILY 37