Health advisory on social media use in adolescence
1What parents should know
Ten recommendations based on the research to date, including adult monitoring in early adolescence, protecting sleep and physical activity, and social media literacy training before use begins.
2What the source suggests you do
- In early adolescence (about 10–14), adult monitoring is advised for most young people; allow more independence as they mature.
- Keep social media from cutting into sleep (at least 8 hours) or physical activity. Use within an hour of bedtime is linked to poorer sleep.
- Limit comparison-driven content, especially about appearance.
- Teach social media literacy before your child starts using it.
3Source and checks
The research behind it
What each study found comes first, then the kind of study and where it was published. We prefer systematic reviews and meta-analyses, and check for new research every month.Using data on more than 350,000 adolescents, the study found that digital technology use explained at most 0.4% of the variation in well-being - a negative but very small association on average.
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