Skip to main content

Facebook may cause serious mental health problems in kids, studies show

kids-internet-facebook
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The scientific community has only just started to discover the various risks and benefits associate with social media and the ways in which it is changing everything from human interaction to childhood development. But according to a recently revealed study, using Facebook and other technology may have negative effects on the mental health of children and teenagers.

These findings were unveiled by Dr. Larry D. Rosen, a professor of psychology at California State University, Dominguez Hills, at the 119th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association in Washington, D.C. on Saturday. Dr. Rosen, whose study was entitled, “Poke Me: How Social Networks Can Both Help and Harm Our Kids,” has been studying the effects of technology on people for more than 25 years.

Recommended Videos

Dr. Rosen’s study found the following worrisome details:

• Teenagers and young adults who are persistently logged on to Facebook are more often to show psychological disorders, like mania, paranoia, aggressive tendencies , antisocial behavior and increased alcohol use. These teens also more often displayed narcissistic tendencies, which are fed by their ability to constantly broadcast information about themselves through Facebook.

• Children, pre-teens and teenagers who used technology, like the Internet and video games, on a regular basis   have more stomach aches, sleeping problems, anxiety and depression. They also miss school more often.

• Not surprisingly, middle school and high school students who logged into Facebook at least once during a 15-minute study session received lower grades. Rosen and his team found that most students were only able to maintain focus on their studies for two or three minutes before distracting themselves with technology, like text messages, mobile apps or the Web.

• Rosen also revealed that the average teenager sends approximately 2,000 text messages per month, a massive amount of information processing that has been founded to be related to problems with sleep and concentration, as well as physical stress.

Despite the plethora of bad news about excessive social networking and use of other technology, Rosen’s findings weren’t all negative.

For instance, young adults who regularly use Facebook are better able to conjure “virtual empathy” for online friends. And introverted teens can learn valuable socializing skills behind the safety of a computer screen. Social networking can also provide innovative ways for teachers to connect with students, Rosen found.

For the parents out there who think they can control their children’s social media intake through the use of computer monitoring software, Rosen says not to bother.

“If you feel that you have to use some sort of computer program to surreptitiously monitor your child’s social networking, you are wasting your time. Your child will find a workaround in a matter of minutes,” he said. “You have to start talking about appropriate technology use early and often and build trust, so that when there is a problem, whether it is being bullied or seeing a disturbing image, your child will talk to you about it.”

(via Science Daily, LA Times) [Image via]

Topics
Andrew Couts
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Features Editor for Digital Trends, Andrew Couts covers a wide swath of consumer technology topics, with particular focus on…
How to make a GIF from a YouTube video
woman sitting and using laptop

Sometimes, whether you're chatting with friends or posting on social media, words just aren't enough -- you need a GIF to fully convey your feelings. If there's a moment from a YouTube video that you want to snip into a GIF, the good news is that you don't need complex software to so it. There are now a bunch of ways to make a GIF from a YouTube video right in your browser.

If you want to use desktop software like Photoshop to make a GIF, then you'll need to download the YouTube video first before you can start making a GIF. However, if you don't want to go through that bother then there are several ways you can make a GIF right in your browser, without the need to download anything. That's ideal if you're working with a low-specced laptop or on a phone, as all the processing to make the GIF is done in the cloud rather than on your machine. With these options you can make quick and fun GIFs from YouTube videos in just a few minutes.
Use GIFs.com for great customization
Step 1: Find the YouTube video that you want to turn into a GIF (perhaps a NASA archive?) and copy its URL.

Read more
I paid Meta to ‘verify’ me — here’s what actually happened
An Instagram profile on an iPhone.

In the fall of 2023 I decided to do a little experiment in the height of the “blue check” hysteria. Twitter had shifted from verifying accounts based (more or less) on merit or importance and instead would let users pay for a blue checkmark. That obviously went (and still goes) badly. Meanwhile, Meta opened its own verification service earlier in the year, called Meta Verified.

Mostly aimed at “creators,” Meta Verified costs $15 a month and helps you “establish your account authenticity and help[s] your community know it’s the real us with a verified badge." It also gives you “proactive account protection” to help fight impersonation by (in part) requiring you to use two-factor authentication. You’ll also get direct account support “from a real person,” and exclusive features like stickers and stars.

Read more
Here’s how to delete your YouTube account on any device
How to delete your YouTube account

Wanting to get out of the YouTube business? If you want to delete your YouTube account, all you need to do is go to your YouTube Studio page, go to the Advanced Settings, and follow the section that will guide you to permanently delete your account. If you need help with these steps, or want to do so on a platform that isn't your computer, you can follow the steps below.

Note that the following steps will delete your YouTube channel, not your associated Google account.

Read more