Everything in moderation. But that’s easier said than done when it comes to social media.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who chairs the United States Senate subcommittee on consumer protection, has previously warned of social media’s damaging effects on teenagers’ mental health by calling it “addictive.” The algorithms that power apps like Instagram and TikTok are designed specifically to “exploit and profit from children’s insecurities and anxieties,” he added.
Excessive social media use can come at the expense of real-world interactions, which can worsen any existing forms of depression and anxiety, says Judith Anderson, a health psychologist at the University of Toronto in Canada. “I’ve noticed a malaise that’s happening with teenagers lately – and I mean more than just the regular teenage angst of not knowing what to do with life,” she says. “It could be the generalized negativity of the pandemic seeping through, but I also think the pandemic and ...
