The American Psychological Association has released recommendations for parents, policymakers and tech companies to help teens avoid mental health problems from social media use. But the organization’s chief science officer says it’s no replacement for government oversight. Why it matters: Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has said that social media negatively impacts youth mental health and has called on Congress to require warning labels for such platforms. More than 30 state attorneys general have echoed that call and also asked Congress to pass the Kids Online Safety Act, which would require social media companies to consider kids’ safety when designing their platforms. The Senate passed KOSA as part of a two-bill package in July, but it’s stalled in the House. Some states have passed laws requiring social media companies to keep kids safe online, but much of the burden has fallen to parents. What parents can do: Here are some sample recommendations from the APA: — Help their kids seek out supportive communities online. Teach kids how to find positive content on the social platforms and communities that affirm them. — Use the tools that social media companies offer to augment their online experience. This can include turning off push notifications or restricting the hours they can use a platform. Parents can also show kids how to limit who can contact them online. — Co-view content and talk about it. Watch the content your kids watch and talk about it to see how it makes them feel and think. Parents can also help their kids recognize hateful and manipulative content and create filters to avoid it. — Watch how social media is impacting your kid. Is their social media use interfering with their sleep or eating habits? The APA advises parents to be on the lookout for unusual changes in their kids’ behavior. — Model good media consumption habits. Having good social media habits demonstrates to kids how to be online in healthy ways. However, Mitch Prinstein, chief science officer for the APA, acknowledges these best practices are a tall order for parents. “Kids are now able to watch whatever they want, whenever they want, with no oversight,” he said. “We really need for the companies that host video content and for the government to put some guardrails in place.” Even so: Not all media is bad, Prinstein notes: “Allowing teens to watch content about teens’ lives and how they get through difficult relationship situations and seeing good modeling of appropriate empathic behavior, joyful content — all of that actually is helpful."
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