How young is too young for social media exposure? Here's what a US health expert says
Child social media
At what age should a child be allowed to join the world of social media? Media giants like Meta, Twitter and a few others have pegged the number at 13, but the US Surgeon General says this might be too young.
In a recent conversation with CNN, US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said that at this age children are still developing an outlook towards relationships, self-worth etc and social media can do a "disservice" to many children.
Watch |Tech Talk: Social media platforms impacting children's health
"I, personally, based on the data I’ve seen, believe that 13 is too early … It’s a time where it’s really important for us to be thoughtful about what’s going into how they think about their own self-worth and their relationships and the skewed and often distorted environment of social media often does a disservice to many of those children," said Murthy.
Recently, a slew of research and studies into the effects of social media on growing children have pointed to the harm these platforms can bring to adolescents.
But stopping young minds from signing up for these widely popular platforms might not be that easy.
Murthy suggests, "if parents can band together and say you know, as a group, we’re not going to allow our kids to use social media until 16 or 17 or 18 or whatever age they choose." In his opinion, this might be a "much more effective strategy in making sure your kids don’t get exposed to harm early."
Recent studies have established links between the use of social media and mental health issues like depression and anxiety. Additionally,exposure to these apps and their content has also been found to lead to problems like body dysmorphia and eating disorders like bulimia and anorexia.
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