2nd Sunday of Lent: Social Media and Youth

Greetings in the name of the Lord:

This past December, the quarterly Safe Environment training for adults working with youth from The McCalmon Group, Inc. was titled, “Preventing Mental Health Harms From Social Media Apps.” I found the information in the training bulletin to be very informative about the mental health of young people and the misuse of social media. Here is a quote from that training bulletin:

Research published by the American Psychological Association links social media app use to psychological harm to young people. These harms include symptoms of depression, anxiety, and fear of missing out, as well as decreased hours of sleep relative to a comparable control group.

A 2019 American Medical Association study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, showed that teens, who spend three hours a day on social media, have double the risk of depression. Not only are mental health professionals concerned about this issue, a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general from 42 states have written to

Congress, urging action. The attorneys general assert these platforms have caused “generational harm” to young people’s mental health, citing the research and urging Congress to pass legislation requiring a U.S. Surgeon General warning on algorithm-driven social media platforms.

And, as of November 07, 2024, the government of Australia has proposed world-leading legislation to prohibit social media app use by children under 16. (page 2-3)

As we can see from this quote, social media can have consequences for the mental health of our youth. In this Holy Season of Lent, perhaps this is the time to establish new boundaries for the use of social media for not only youth but for all of us. We as adults have the opportunity to be good examples and role models on the proper use of social media.

The full training bulletin that I referenced is available here. Please take the time to read it and become more informed about the harmful effects of social media on the mental health of our young people.

Yours in Christ:
Fr. Haft