Social media can be brutal. From peer group bullying to predatory behavior, inappropriate content, and unhealthy absorption due to the engagement-driven design many platforms rely on, parents and regulators are justifiably concerned about the harms today’s teens might face online.
As most of us know, research has found links between heavy social media use and increased risk of depression, self-harm, and other mental health issues. Teens, eager to make their mark on the online world, are certainly at risk. Regulators and platforms are responding to high-profile cases by introducing guardrails, but parents still have the most decisive role to play.
Their role is, perhaps, the most difficult, requiring understanding, patience, vigilance, and ultimately trust. To understand this role, it helps to see what third parties are attempting – and why their interventions may not have the intended effect.
What Governments Are Trying
Social media’s influence on the young has become an issue that goes beyond parental concern. Australia has passed legislation requiring platforms to prevent users under 16 from having or creating accounts, and regulators in other countries are also exploring ways to address the issue.
For example, the UK’s Online Safety Act bars social media companies from exposing young people to harmful content, and France is considering measures such as parental consent requirements and curfews for minors.
Meanwhile, critics argue that prohibitions and rules may be ineffective because teens can bypass restrictions by using adult credentials, borrowing accounts, or finding other workarounds. Regulations will be hard to enforce, and may ultimately have little impact on the problems they seek to address.
Platforms Say They’re Already Implementing Safeguards
Social media companies are under pressure to protect teen users, and many say they are taking steps to do so. Reported guardrails include age restrictions, ad restrictions, privacy defaults, restricted messaging, and age-based content moderation.
However, just as teens may seek ways to bypass regulations, they may also find ways around platform safeguards. There is also skepticism about platforms’ commitment to teen harm reduction, since increased engagement benefits both the companies and their advertisers.
What Parents Can Do
It would be realistic to assume that if teenagers are interested in social media, they’ll use it sooner or later. Teaching young people how to think critically, engage meaningfully, and set boundaries may be more beneficial than rule-setting, close supervision, or outright prohibition.
The American Psychological Association (APA) advises starting the process in early adolescence, somewhere between the ages of 10 and 14. It recommends beginning with co-use, proceeding to carefully monitored social media activity, and gradually leading up to autonomy that will satisfy an older teenager’s desire for privacy.
Open discussions will be key, and limits on screen time can help avert excessive dependence on social media. For instance, you and your teen might discuss a family social media policy that limits time spent online so that they can enjoy a balanced lifestyle and healthy sleep.
Social Media Literacy Skills Teens Need
Parents play a key role in preparing teens for the time when online supervision is relaxed. To achieve this with any degree of confidence, parents must make a judgment call based on their children’s readiness to go it alone. Important skills young people should learn include:
- Understanding disinformation and knowing how to identify reliable sources
- Knowing that content may imply majority consensus and approval, even when that’s not necessarily true
- Being ready to prioritize real life over online life, for example, by maintaining a disciplined, balanced schedule
- Building healthy online relationships while maintaining privacy and personal safety
- Knowing how to deal with conflicts on social media
- Refraining from social comparisons based on content
- Recognizing and rejecting bias, hate speech, and discriminatory language
Should teens use social media? They already do, and prohibitions will just drive teen social media use underground, placing vulnerable young people in a position where they’re afraid to reach out for help or discuss their own mistakes.
Since bans aren’t really a solution, the only way we can help is to encourage safer design and practice constructive parenting. Teens often share the same concerns as their parents and may be more receptive than we expect.
The online world is fraught with risks, but so is the real one. Just as we teach our children how to stay safe in the real world, we should equip them with the skills they need to enjoy the benefits of social media while avoiding its pitfalls.
Andrea Durrheim 
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