ISLAMABAD, DEC 09 (Online): All those hours teens spend on Instagram or Snapchat could mess with their minds differently, depending on their gender, a new study has found.<\/p>\n
When girls suffered poor mental health linked to heavy social mediause, it seemed to be driven by a combination of being exposed to cyberbullying, missing out on sleep or not getting enough exercise, British researchers reported Tuesday in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health.<\/p>\n
Boys weren’t as affected by those factors, suggesting there were \u201cother mechanisms\u201d by which heavy social media use affected their mental health, though the researchers couldn\u2019t yet pinpoint what they were.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur results suggest that social media itself doesn\u2019t cause harm, but that frequent use may disrupt activities that have a positive impact on mental health,\u201d said lead author Russell Viner, a professor of adolescent health at the University College London Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, in a statement.<\/p>\n
That means social media use among teens “need not be as negative as often assumed,\u201d especially if they can be encouraged to get enough sleep and exercise and learn how to deal with cyberbullying, added Ann DeSmet, a researcher in the department of movement and sports sciences at Ghent University in Belgium, in an accompanying commentary.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe idea is to promote other positive habits rather than saying to kids, \u2018You can\u2019t be on social media as much,\u2019\u201d Jill Emanuele, senior director of the Mood Disorders Center at the Child Mind Institute in New York, told TODAY. She was not involved in the study.<\/p>\n
The study defined \u201cvery frequent social media use\u201d as using Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and WhatsApp three or more times a day, though the data didn\u2019t show how much time the teens actually spent on the platforms.<\/p>\n
The more often girls checked social media, the greater their psychological distress, but this effect was not as clear in boys, the study found.<\/p>\n
Still, heavy social media use predicted later poor mental health and well-being in both sexes, with exposure to cyberbullying and the disruption of sleep and exercise seemingly responsible for the effect on girls, the study found. In boys, those factors played less of a role, the authors noted.<\/p>\n
T. 27, 201805:28
\nEmanuele was concerned that the research had inconclusive findings for boys. In her experience, both girls and boys are affected by cyberbullying and inadequate sleep.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s always been this relationship between social media use and cyberbullying. We also see it in boys,\u201d she said. \u201cWe see loss of sleep leading to so many different kinds of problems\u2026 in terms of being able to think clearly, pay attention, engage in activities properly.\u201d<\/p>\n
And while social media has been linked to social isolation and depression, it\u2019s also associated with some \u201cgood things,\u201d like increased social communication, Emanuele noted.<\/p>\n
Her advice to parents:
\n\u2022\tEverything in moderation, including social media. \u201cWe do know that anything in extreme is not good,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat we\u2019re really trying to understand is: How much is it actually affecting our children?\u201d
\n\u2022\tKids should be off their screens before they go to bed. That way, they wind down for the day and don’t have their sleep disrupted by their friends’ photos and posts.<\/p>\n
\u2022\tFind ways to reinforce positive habits, like getting enough sleep and exercise, rather than declaring social media off-limits. \u201cThe first reaction parents will have is to say [to kids], \u2018You can\u2019t be on social media as much.\u2019 When you tell a kid to not do something, they\u2019re going to do it more.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2022\tEncourage kids to track the number of hours they spend on social media: Many don\u2019t actually know and some would probably be surprised.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD, DEC 09 (Online): All those hours teens spend on Instagram or Snapchat could mess with their minds differently, depending on their gender, a new study has found. When girls suffered poor mental health linked to heavy social mediause, it seemed to be driven by […]<\/p>\n
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