Evidence is mounting that excessive social media use has an adverse effect on mental health, particularly among children. Parents and educators must rise to the moment, creating environments that educate kids on the negative effects of too much time online and encourage more responsible habits while respecting social media’s role in modern society.

A new study published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, a publication produced by the prestigious medical journal The Lancet, found that frequent social media use often exposes children to cyberbullying and reduces their time sleeping or exercising.

The research was conducted in the United Kingdom over a period of three years with 10,000 subjects.

The study’s authors noted that the observed harmful effects were not a direct result of social media itself, but rather an indirect result of how the technology was used. That nuance should not be misunderstood. For example, a car is not typically the direct cause of a crash. Rather, reckless use by the car’s operator creates the risk. So it is with social media.

The Lancet’s findings are the latest in an ever-growing body of scientific research on the mental health effects of social media. Notably, two studies by the University of Pittsburgh, one in 2017 and the other in 2019, have found that negative social media interactions — comment fights, friend removals, for example — make people feel lonelier, while positive experiences — friend requests, well-received photos — don’t make people feel any less lonely.

And so the question becomes: What can be done to ensure the health and well-being of children in the digital age? The ubiquity and popularity of social media websites and apps are such that it would be myopic, not to mention impossible, to keep kids away from them altogether. Instead, the solution can likely be found in education.

At the Millennium School in San Francisco, an experimental school that has teamed up with faculty from Stanford, the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of California, San Francisco, middle school students examined research on the mental health effects of social media and were tasked with creating their own guidelines for social media use. According to a write-up in UC Berkeley’s Greater Good magazine, the kids workshopped their ideas with one another in order to generate recommendations that prioritized “respect for others, safety and well-being, and setting appropriate limits.” Then, at a special assembly, the students shared their ideas with their parents.

While not every school has the resources to engage this topic with the depth of the Millennium School, districts everywhere should be formulating curricula that aim to educate children about social media use in a similarly engaging and empowering way.

Social media is a part of life. Many children (and adults) see it as essential. Turning back the clock to a pre-digital age isn’t reasonable.

Schools and parents should strike up a conversation — face to face, no text messaging or emailing — with children about the responsible use of social media.

First Published: September 17, 2019, 10:00 a.m.