{"id":3468,"date":"2024-04-04T15:46:42","date_gmt":"2024-04-04T19:46:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.toryjoseph.com\/?p=3468"},"modified":"2024-04-08T08:20:20","modified_gmt":"2024-04-08T12:20:20","slug":"teens-and-social-media-is-it-too-much","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.toryjoseph.com\/teens-and-social-media-is-it-too-much\/","title":{"rendered":"Teens and Social Media, Is It Too Much?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Social media has become an integral part of everyday life for most teenagers, with 95% of 13\u201317-year-olds using one or more social media platforms for an average of 9 hours a day. Is that too much? Many experts, parents and even teens themselves, think so<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For most, it feels like a necessary tool for communication, self-expression, and connection with others. The internet seems to have taken over all our lives. That is why parents should be mindful and intentional about their own habits and use of smartphones and other devices. Teens may seem like they are unaware, but they are excellent observers, and modeling is still the best teaching tool we have. A recent Pew Center survey reported that nearly half of teens (46%) say their parent is distracted by their phone when they\u2019re trying to talk to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s important for parents to understand the impact of digital media habits at this crucial developmental stage. During adolescence, hormones and brain development may contribute to emotional dysregulation and engagement in risky behaviors. The reward centers of the brain are more active and vulnerable, leading to more impulsive behaviors and addiction vulnerability. As Jonathan Haidt describes in his recent article in the Atlantic<\/a>, the use of smartphones has altered developmental pathways for the new generation of kids. Since 2015, friendship, dating, sexuality, exercise, sleep, academics, family dynamics and identity have all been affected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are pros and cons to smartphone and social media engagement for our teens. It is something we have come to accept, but it is still a privilege and a risk. Like a teen driving a car, there are limits, cautions and responsibilities. Setting the stage early, helps them understand that social media use isn\u2019t a given right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By being proactive and involved in teens’ social media usage, parents can help mitigate the risks and ensure a safer online experience for their children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you’re feeling overwhelmed navigating your teen’s social media use, consider seeking family counseling from a qualified therapist. Tory Joseph, M.Ed., LCPC<\/a> can help you develop healthy communication strategies and establish clear boundaries around digital media use in your household. Contact Tory<\/a> today, learn more about her parent coaching services<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Social media has become an integral part of everyday life for most teenagers, with 95% of 13\u201317-year-olds using one or more social media platforms for an average of 9 hours a day. Is that too much? Many experts, parents and even teens themselves, think so. For most, it feels like a necessary tool for communication, self-expression, and connection with others. The internet seems to have taken over all our lives. That is why parents should be mindful and intentional about their own habits and use of smart phones and other devices.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3473,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.toryjoseph.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3468"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.toryjoseph.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.toryjoseph.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.toryjoseph.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.toryjoseph.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3468"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.toryjoseph.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3468\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3496,"href":"https:\/\/www.toryjoseph.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3468\/revisions\/3496"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.toryjoseph.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3473"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.toryjoseph.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.toryjoseph.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3468"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.toryjoseph.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Pros of social media for young teens include:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Cons of social media for young teens include<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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To monitor and manage their teens’ social media use, parents can take the following steps<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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