This year we’re celebrating the 20th anniversary of the world's largest social media platform. Begun in 2004, Facebook now boasts 3.05 billion users and its owner is worth $171.1 billion. The introduction of smart phones, which placed mini computers in everyone’s hands, sent technology and social media usage into major overdrive.
Since 2010, teen suicide amongst girls has increased 64 per cent; depression amongst teens almost 150 per cent. Meta's CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on online child sexual exploitation at the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, U.S., January 31, 2024. - Reuters Sadly, as parents, we are modelling social media behaviours to our children about what’s seemingly important: the time we’re spending on a device and the attention we receive from it.
Social media platforms are designed to be addictive and they reward users for their engagement. Many studies have now shown direct links between the amount of screen time for children and disrupted sleep, low self-esteem, poor body image, eating disorders, attention and memory deficits, depression and anxiety .
While an online harms bill was introduced by our federal government earlier this year, it can take years for such legislation to pass. This is far from reasonable given the current epidemic in mental health.Jonathan Haidt recommends a four-step plan for bringing children out of crisis in his new book, “The Anxious Generation,” wherein he combines the results of numerous studies with his own research. First, there should be no smartphones before high school.