According to the study that is cited in this article, about half of all teens in the US described themselves as being online “constantly”.After two or more hours a day of time on-line, suicide risk factors rose significantly. The second data set cited by Twenge correlated more time on social media with greater unhappiness, the reverse was not found; the degree of unhappiness didn’t lead to more social media use, although less use in one study did correlate with less unhappiness.As Twenge concludes, even if time online doesn’t directly harm mental health, it may still adversely affect it in indirect ways, like reducing face to face connection, an important aspect of happiness, and increasing isolation, a key risk factor for suicide.
I am a total axe-grinder about the way parents — even Christian parents who are otherwise vigilant about their kids’ engagement with pop culture — roll over for technology, and hand their children over to it.
In my family, we are pretty strict with our kids regarding technology, but it’s a constant struggle, especially with FOMO — fear of missing out. The thing is, they really are missing out, because most of their friends do most of their socializing (“socializing”) online. But for us parents, what is the alternative? Turn our kids over to this monster?
What more do you need to know, Mom and Dad. Get rid of the smartphone, now. If you cannot be persuaded to consider the emotional and spiritual health of your daughter, think of it this way: Twenty years from now, when your daughter has her college degree, and is getting ahead in her profession, how will you and she feel when some disgusting pedophile humiliates her by broadcasting a film of her sexually degrading herself when she was a teenager — or younger? What kind of blackmail opportunities are you giving these monsters because you are too cowardly to say “no” to your daughter (or son) when they demand this technology that they are too young to use responsibly?