MIddle
Childhood
Social Media's Impact on Mental Health
How does social media use impact the mental health of early adolescents?
Middle childhood, ranging from ages 9-14, is period of huge developmental changes. At this age, children’s “…physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and identity- overwhelmingly affect the behaviors, attitudes, and thinking…” (Brown & Knowles 3). Different parts of their bodies along with hormone levels are growing and changing, and they crave independence and exploration but still require guidance and supervision from trusted adults. Fagell (2019) adds that, “As their prefrontal cortex develops, they’re malleable, impulsive, and impressionable” (9). Children at this age are trying to make sense of all of these changes that are all happening at once by experimenting with different identities and behaviors to begin to learn about who they are.
In recent years, the extensive and global development of social media platforms and apps has been one factor contributing to children reaching these developmental peaks associated with middle childhood and puberty much earlier than in past generations. With “…45% of teens saying they’re online “almost constantly” (9), more information has come to light about the potentially harmful impacts of social media on the emergence of mental health concerns and behaviors in children. Discourse finds that social media not only indirectly impacts development by causing children to lose sleep, therefore impacting their alertness and executive functioning, but it also gives them a heightened awareness of and exposure to unrealistic, mature, or dark information and societal norms. As their bodies and minds are changing every day, early adolescents, especially without the guidance or limitations set by an adult, lack the experience and ability to avoid unwarranted or harmful content and messaging. Because their prefrontal cortexes are so easily influenced by social media content and interactions, combined with trying to build a sense of identity amidst many transitions and changes, this age is extremely vulnerable to developing “…loneliness, low self-esteem, depression and anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress, eating disorders” (Brown & Knowles 137).
Geiser et al. note that regardless of socio-economic status or grade level, middle childhood students are coping with issues related to “social media (e.g., 24/7 bullying, distorted understandings of reality) …peer relationships/bullying…”, starting as early as elementary school, and that these factors negatively impact the mental health of students (3). Despite the fact that K-12 schools across the country are experiencing a mental health crisis, the CDC has data that from 2007-2014, the suicide rate of children ages 10-14 doubled in the United States, with 61.5% of children struggling with major depression receiving no treatment at all (Fagell 11). Recent research and discourse on the impact social media has on early adolescents’ mental health has made it clear the need for earlier and more collaborative intervention and has informed the goal of this site; to inform parents and educators about the youth mental health risks associated with unfiltered social media use as well as to provide resources to more information, community-based resources, instructional tools to be used by parents or educators with their students, as well as platforms to foster parent/teacher communication!