Research on Teens, Social Media and Technology

 There are many aspects of technology uses among kids and teens with which parents are rightly concerned. Exposure to graphic content such as pornography and violence, online predators, cyber crime or scams, and harassment/bullying rank at the top of most parents’ concerns. These threats all come with potentially devastating consequences. But, as parents we are also interested in our kids development into well-balanced, productive members of society. A recent study by Pew Research revealed that 45% of teens say that they are “almost constantly” online. That statistic is a startling. In addition to protecting the content kids are exposed to, parents need to be actively involved in limiting the time their kids are on their devices and ideally help them develop the self control needed to use their devices an appropriate amount of time. Apple’s new Screen Time features coming out this fall can help with that but many of us might need to begin with controlling ourselves so that we model appropriate usage first! Gulp.