Tami D. Benton, MD: You know, social media, it's here to stay. So it's gonna be here for a while. And you know, I think that, you know, for families, it's important to think about your children's exposure to anything online, putting social media aside, video, television, and you know, there are guidelines that the American Academy of Pediatrics provides.

They actually have, media guidelines for parents based on age because what your exposure should be, should be based on age. and so, you know, should we have youngsters, children under 12 on social media? That's a good question. Probably not. You wouldn't want your young children having too much exposure to media.

For adolescents and social media, it's really important for parents to know what their youngsters are doing and to be able to have some controls over your exposure. So, you know, most of the parents, like after certain hours in the evening, all of your devices are off, and that's a good idea. But for adolescents, they frequently don't want us in their business.

They don't want us to know what they're doing. But I do think it's important for parents to know which social media sites their young people are on. And to be able to set some limits around that. You know, we encourage parents to know, the account numbers, the access codes for some of the social media sites.

That can be really challenging with teenagers, but I think it's really important to have those discussions and it isn't because the teenager has bad judgment. It is because there are lots of things out there that are not safe for them, that they're unaware of. And so I do strongly recommend that parents learn about the social media sites.

I can say as a clinician, I sometimes have no idea what the teenagers are talking to me about. When I ask about social media, I have to go look it up or ask someone. I would encourage you to do that. But I do think it's important for families to know which social media sites their youngsters are on, and to also pay attention to their emotional states.

So we know that there are some young people who are more susceptible to the untoward effects of social media, and that is young people are struggling with their mental health. Or young folks who are being bullied at school or going through other challenges. You know, being on social media can place them at some risk.

That being said, there's some groups that social media support. So it's not all bad. We know that for groups who feel vulnerable or marginalized, they can find support groups within their social media networks that can really support their mental health as well. I think as a parent, the only way you know that, is to know what your youngster's doing and get comfortable having that conversation.

And sometimes parents shy away from those conversations because the teenager blows up, right? And you get into an argument. You'll live through an argument. So it's really important that you ask. And if the argument is what ensues, address that, and determine how you're gonna communicate about your expectations.

And you know, at the end of the day, the challenge for us, particularly as our children become young adults, is how do we monitor and balance our level of control and intrusiveness and engagement with supporting their independence. But in the current environment with all the things that go on, safety's key. And you have to navigate those things in the context of what's safe and what's appropriate.

You know, as I mentioned, there's some populations are vulnerable. So for youngsters who actually are struggling, you know, young people who are anxious, are depressed, those struggling with eating disorders or other conditions, are much more vulnerable to bullying online. And so I, you know, I recommend when folk, when youngsters are going through those kind of challenges that you really limit their social media engagement.

I guess some of the other things are, you know, for some young people, who they spend excessive time on social media sites and social media involvement should never replace your real life that's happening outside of that. So, you know, many young people have lots of activities including their social media activities.

When you notice that they social media is taking up the majority of their out of school and out of work time, I would be concerned. And I would look at how much time youngsters are spending on social media and sort of back them out of that. But I do think excessive time on social media, young people who are vulnerable, noticing that with the social media use, that you're seeing changes in your child, either in their mood or in their behavior.

I mean, those are times that I think you should be concerned about social media and probably limit it. And then I do advise parents very strongly, educate yourself about the social media sites. That's really, really important. And you don't have to like, you don't have to go that far. You know, go to the American Academy of Pediatrics website, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Most of these pediatric focused, organizations have resources for families about social media and, you know, other topics that are of concern.

Yeah, and as you know, as I kind of mentioned before, one is if your child is struggling with a mental health condition, I would limit social media for a multitude of reasons. It's not just what comes in. It's what goes out. And so, you know, when folks are struggling and they're trying to fit in, many times they share information that they don't realize, is just out there in the public.

And so I, you know, frequently, at those times when you know your child is struggling, is the time that you really wanna limit their social media interaction. And then, as I mentioned, if you see change, okay, they're not spending time with their friends anymore or they're spending more and more time in online sites.

It really is a time to kinda step in and either stop their social media utilization for a while or really have a lot more oversight of what they're actually engaged in.