SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - The features of popular apps, Facebook and Instagram, from Meta are at the center of a lawsuit from 42 states.
“First of all, this is all new, just listening to all the news, this is all new to me," said parent Bernadette Senica.
It alleges the company made features on the apps that made children addicted to them thus harming their mental health.
“We see it all the time. Bullying that goes on through social media. So, there is that shadow over our heads as parents trying to provide as much exposure and protection to our children,” said parent Carlos Gonzalez.
Jean Twenge is psychology professor at San Diego State University.
“We have a teen mental health crisis, and it coincided exactly modern social media becoming more popular,” Twenge said.
She’s co-authored studies about the connection between screen time and mental health disorders in kids and teens.
“Teens who are heavy users of social media are about twice as likely to be depressed,” Twenge said.
ABC 10News asked Twenge how long it takes for the negative impacts on a child’s mental health from the social media apps like Facebook and Instagram to revert once a child’s off of it.
She said positive signs can come quickly.
“Well, it takes at least a week for people to get over what seems like withdraw symptoms after giving up or cutting back on social media. Usually, the positive effects start to show up after two or three weeks,” Twenge said.
Twenge told ABC 10News there are some simple steps she even does as a parent to cut down on her kid’s screen time.
“First, no phones in the bedroom overnight, not just for your kids but for yourself, because they can interfere with sleep. Put off getting your kid a smartphone with internet access as long as possible,” Twenge said. “And third, just realize it’s actually the law that kids 12 and under are not supposed to be on social media.”
Some parents say this could be helpful.
“I think what’s important is that the parents are involved and are constantly engaged with their children to be able to monitor; even looking over their shoulder to see what they’re doing,” Gonzalez said.
“I don’t mean to be looking at my son through a microscope. But, maybe nowadays because the kids are spending more on social media or on his cell you know, it’s good to continue to monitor them,” Senica said.
Twenge said if your child needs a phone for walking home from the bus stop or just being picked up from other activities, bring it back to early 2000’s.
Get them a flip phone or a kid’s phone that doesn’t have internet access.
