https://www.canva.com/design/DAGm93_5rHY/18Zlct4MreT8HSraL4eMww/view?utm_content=DAGm93_5rHY&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=uniquelinks&utlId=h1e8347e752

Social Media Tips for Parents: healthy and happy teens in a digital age © 2025 by Jeff Bennett is licensed under CC BY 4.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Point 1

Wise, J. (2016). Anxiety in teenage girls rises sharply in past decade, finds study. BMJ: British Medical Journal, 354. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26943817

Marciano, L., Schulz, P. J., & Camerini, A.-L. (2022). How do depression, duration of internet use and social connection in adolescence influence each other over time? An extension of the RI-CLPM including contextual factors. Computers in Human Behavior, 136, 107390. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2022.107390

Photo by Carson Masterson on Unsplash

https://media1.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExZHF4d3F6aDNxNTE0bm03ZzluYmZ0ZXNxNHFkcDJvN2U5cm5iZ2J0MiZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/ZyVUHyoYN9i2q8xAQP/giphy.gif

Point 2

Bradshaw, S., & Vaillancourt, T. (2024). Freedom of Thought, Social Media and the Teen Brain. Centre for International Governance Innovation. https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep57753

FOMO and Social Media | Psychology Today. (n.d.). Retrieved November 24, 2024, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-asymmetric-brain/202106/fomo-and-social-media

Coyl, D. D. (2009). Kids Really Are Different These Days. The Phi Delta Kappan, 90(6), 404–407. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20446131

Photo by Shawn Day on Unsplash

Point 3

O’Keeffe, G. S., Clarke-Pearson, K., & Council on Communications and Media. (2011). The Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents, and Families. Pediatrics, 127(4), 800–804. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2011-0054

Photo by Volodymyr Hryshchenko on Unsplash

Point 4

5 tips for talking to your teen about reducing their smartphone screen time. (n.d.). BBC Bitesize. Retrieved February 8, 2025, from https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zfcctcw

Photo by Greg Pappas on Unsplash

Point 5

Kardaras, N. (2016). Generation Z: Online and at Risk? Scientific American Mind, 27(5), 64–69. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24945499

Photo by Lesli Whitecotton on Unsplash

Point 6

Valkenburg, P. M., & Piotrowski, J. T. (2017). Social Media. In Plugged In (pp. 218–243). Yale University Press. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1n2tvjd.16

Marciano, L., Dubicka, B., Magis-Weinberg, L., Morese, R., Viswanath, K., & Weber, R. (2025). Digital Media, Cognition, and Brain Development in Adolescence. In D. A. Christakis & L. Hale (Eds.), Handbook of Children and Screens: Digital Media, Development, and Well-Being from Birth Through Adolescence (pp. 21–29). Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-69362-5_4

Photo by Julio Lopez on Unsplash

Point 7

Akram, W. (2018). A Study on Positive and Negative Effects of Social Media on Society. International Journal of Computer Sciences and Engineering, 5. https://doi.org/10.26438/ijcse/v5i10.351354

Teens are spending nearly 5 hours daily on social media. Here are the mental health outcomes. (n.d.). Https://Www.Apa.Org. Retrieved November 13, 2024, from https://www.apa.org/monitor/2024/04/teen-social-use-mental-health

Photo by sofatutor on Unsplash

Point 8

Odgers, C. (2018). Smartphones are bad for some teens, not all. Nature, 554(7693), 432–434. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-02109-8

Wise, J. (2016). Anxiety in teenage girls rises sharply in past decade, finds study. BMJ: British Medical Journal, 354. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26943817

Selfhout, M. H. W., Branje, S. J. T., Delsing, M., ter Bogt, T. F. M., & Meeus, W. H. J. (2009). Different types of Internet use, depression, and social anxiety: The role of perceived friendship quality. Journal of Adolescence, 32(4), 819–833. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2008.10.011

Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash

Point 9

Ozimek, P., & Förster, J. (2021). The social online-self-regulation-theory: A review of self-regulation in social media. Journal of Media Psychology: Theories, Methods, and Applications, 33(4), 181–190. https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-1105/a000304

5 tips for talking to your teen about reducing their smartphone screen time. (n.d.). BBC Bitesize. Retrieved February 8, 2025, from https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zfcctcw

O’Keeffe, G. S., Clarke-Pearson, K., & Council on Communications and Media. (2011). The Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents, and Families. Pediatrics, 127(4), 800–804. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2011-0054

Photo by Jackson Simmer on Unsplash

Point 10

O’Keeffe, G. S., Clarke-Pearson, K., & Council on Communications and Media. (2011). The Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents, and Families. Pediatrics, 127(4), 800–804. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2011-0054

Crittenden, C. (2019). The Kids Are Online—And Alright. Issues in Science and Technology, 36(1), 43–47. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26949078

https://unsplash.com/photos/a-group-of-young-people-standing-next-to-each-other-EzI_qb6QREU?utm_content=creditShareLink&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash

Social media tips for parents

Other links of interest

Miller, D., Costa, E., Haynes, N., McDonald, T., Nicolescu, R., Sinanan, J., Spyer, J., Venkatraman, S., & Wang, X. (2016). Does social media make people happier? In How the World Changed Social Media (1st ed., Vol. 1, pp. 193–204). UCL Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt1g69z35.20

BC’s Digital Literacy Framework. (2013). https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/education/kindergarten-to-grade-12/teach/teaching-tools/digital-literacy-framework.pdf

Xiao, B., Zhao, H., Hein-Salvi, C., Parent, N., & Shapka, J. D. (2024). Examining Self-Regulation and Problematic Smartphone Use in Canadian Adolescents: A Parallel Latent Growth Modeling Approach. Journal of Youth and Adolescence. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-024-02071-x

Benvenuti, M., Wright, M., Naslund, J., & Miers, A. C. (2023). How technology use is changing adolescents’ behaviors and their social, physical, and cognitive development. Current Psychology, 42(19), 16466–16469. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-04254-4

Christakis, D. A., & Hale, L. (Eds.). (2025). Handbook of Children and Screens: Digital Media, Development, and Well-Being from Birth Through Adolescence. Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-69362-5

Phone bans in schools don’t help grades or health, study suggests. (2025, February 5). https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy8plvqv60lo

Marciano, L., Dubicka, B., Magis-Weinberg, L., Morese, R., Viswanath, K., & Weber, R. (2025). Digital Media, Cognition, and Brain Development in Adolescence. In D. A. Christakis & L. Hale (Eds.), Handbook of Children and Screens: Digital Media, Development, and Well-Being from Birth Through Adolescence (pp. 21–29). Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-69362-5_4

Tremblay, M. S., Kuzik, N., Biddle, S. J. H., Carson, V., Chinapaw, M. J. M., Dumuid, D., Huang, W. Y., Saunders, T. J., Staiano, A. E., & Pate, R. R. (2025). Digital Screen Media Use, Movement Behaviors, and Child Health. In D. A. Christakis & L. Hale (Eds.), Handbook of Children and Screens: Digital Media, Development, and Well-Being from Birth Through Adolescence (pp. 63–72). Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-69362-5_10

Christakis, D. A., & Hale, L. (2025). Introduction. In D. A. Christakis & L. Hale (Eds.), Handbook of Children and Screens: Digital Media, Development, and Well-Being from Birth Through Adolescence (pp. 1–4). Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-69362-5_1

Weigle, P. (2025). Introduction to the Section on Digital Media and Mental Health. In D. A. Christakis & L. Hale (Eds.), Handbook of Children and Screens: Digital Media, Development, and Well-Being from Birth Through Adolescence (pp. 117–120). Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-69362-5_16

Staiano, A. E., Button, A. M., Goldfield, G. S., Robinson, T. N., Mota, J., Woolford, S. J., & Katzmarzyk, P. T. (2025). Screen Media, Obesity, and Nutrition. In D. A. Christakis & L. Hale (Eds.), Handbook of Children and Screens: Digital Media, Development, and Well-Being from Birth Through Adolescence (pp. 73–80). Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-69362-5_11

Coyne, S. M., Escobar-Viera, C., Bekalu, M. A., Charmaraman, L., Primack, B., Shafi, R. M. A., Valkenburg, P. M., & Williams, K. D. A. (2025). Social Media and Youth Mental Health: A Departure from the Status Quo. In D. A. Christakis & L. Hale (Eds.), Handbook of Children and Screens: Digital Media, Development, and Well-Being from Birth Through Adolescence (pp. 121–127). Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-69362-5_17

Social media ban for under-16s ‘on the table’ says UK government

Fuchs, C. (n.d.). SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES AND THE SURVEILLANCE SOCIETY.

Solihull schools urge parents to delay buying children smartphones

Sidoti, M. F. and O. (2024, December 12). Teens, Social Media and Technology 2024. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2024/12/12/teens-social-media-and-technology-2024/

Rosen, L. D. (2017, October). The distracted student mind – enhancing its focus and attention on JSTOR. The Phi Delta Kappan, 99,(No. 2), 8-14 (7 pages). https://www.jstor.org/stable/26388265

Baumgartner, S. E., Parry, D. A., Beyens, I., Wiradhany, W., Uncapher, M., Wagner, A. D., & Bavelier, D. (2025). The Short- and Long-Term Effects of Digital Media Use on Attention. In D. A. Christakis & L. Hale (Eds.), Handbook of Children and Screens: Digital Media, Development, and Well-Being from Birth Through Adolescence (pp. 31–37). Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-69362-5_5

Hale, L., Hartstein, L. E., Robbins, R., Grandner, M. A., LeBourgeois, M. K., Garrison, M. M., & Czeisler, C. A. (2025). What Do We Know About the Link Between Screens and Sleep Health? In D. A. Christakis & L. Hale (Eds.), Handbook of Children and Screens: Digital Media, Development, and Well-Being from Birth Through Adolescence (pp. 101–107). Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-69362-5_14

Ellis, L. A., Collin, P., Hurley, P. J., Davenport, T. A., Burns, J. M., & Hickie, I. B. (2013). Young men’s attitudes and behaviour in relation to mental health and technology: Implications for the development of online mental health services. BMC Psychiatry, 13(1), 119. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-244X-13-119

Ariefdjohan, M., Nesi, J., Mullin, B., Pesko, M., & Fritsch, S. (2025). Youth Anxiety in the Digital Age: Present Status and Future Considerations. In D. A. Christakis & L. Hale (Eds.), Handbook of Children and Screens: Digital Media, Development, and Well-Being from Birth Through Adolescence (pp. 129–136). Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-69362-5_18