When scrolling becomes an addiction: Growing risk for children!

By Zoila Palma:  Meta’s reported $17.1 billion settlement has renewed attention on the growing concerns surrounding social media use among children and teenagers, particularly the ways digital platforms may encourage young users to remain online for extended periods.

According to Jason Nagata, M.D., MSc, a pediatrician and youth screen-time researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, frequent overnight social media notifications can disrupt teenagers’ sleep and have been linked to depression, lower cognitive performance and suicidal behaviors. He said the settlement represents a meaningful step because it places greater responsibility on social media platforms, rather than solely on children and parents.

Under the agreement, Meta has committed to measures including default time limits, restrictions on nighttime notifications, options for non-personalized feeds and stronger age-assurance measures. Nagata emphasized, however, that not all screen time is harmful, noting that digital platforms can also support education, communication, social connection and access to health information.

Research involving thousands of adolescents has found that problematic social media use is associated with a range of health and developmental concerns, including depression, suicidal behaviors, sleep disturbances and difficulties with memory and language.

Researchers also note that children and teenagers may be particularly vulnerable because their brains are still developing and they can be highly influenced by peer feedback, likes, notifications and personalized content.

Nagata encouraged parents to focus less on simply counting screen hours and more on how social media affects their children’s daily lives.

He recommends establishing screen-free periods during meals and bedtime, keeping phones outside bedrooms at night and modeling healthy technology habits.

He also stressed the importance of ongoing conversations with children about cyberbullying, problematic content and difficulties controlling social media use, while calling for independent research to determine whether platform changes actually improve young people’s health and well-being.

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