By Natalia Rodriguez
Social media is a form of communication that has taken over our attention. Long gone are the days of Myspace as young people are using modern platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest and Snapchat.
Cabrillo Student Terra Nasr
Unlike Facebook, which has limited content based on a user’s friend list, these platforms use algorithms to find content based on what a user interacts with. This creates endless personalized content which many find addictive.
Practically everyone has a phone in their pocket buzzing with attention-calling notifications. In teens who have grown up in the digital age, poor mental health has been linked to these platforms.
The question we now have to ask is: What do we do?
In 2019, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill allowing schools to limit or ban cell phone usage during the school day, except for emergencies. This year, he called for stricter limits, citing Surgeon General Vivek Murthy’s urging Congress to put a warning label on social media platforms to “remind parents and adolescents that social media has not been proved safe.”
After a pandemic, concern for young people using social media has only grown. I sat down with students and nonprofit organizer and leading youth mental health expert Lori Butterworth, MEd, MA, to gauge the strain of social media on our County.
Lori Butterworth is familiar with nonprofits. She had a full career as a high school teacher before founding her first nonprofit, Jacob’s Heart Children’s Cancer Support Group. From humble beginnings, Jacob’s Heart has been nationally recognized for its supportive family care and is a leading cancer resource. She then co-founded the Children’s Hospice and Palliative Care Coalition of California.
Now, using her experience as a certified Youth Mental Health First Aid Instructor, she is on the path to getting her doctorate in psychology by age 65.
Last year, she founded her newest nonprofit, the Center for Child and Adolescent Mental Health in Soquel. She embraces a type of therapy created by Dr. Steven Hayes known as ACT, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.
Lori Butterworth with Dr. Steven Hayes, founder of ACT: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.
With the start of her 3rd nonprofit, she will focus on youth mental health. In Butterworth’s words, the CCAMH aims to provide “evidence-based, scientifically grounded youth mental health care at an affordable price.”
At her center, she’s noticed the adverse reactions teens are having toward social media: “Social media has been proven to be detrimental to the health of our children. Plain and simple. The negative consequences on their brains, development, friendships, and their ability to relate to other people far outweigh the positive that comes from it.”
Referencing her doctorate investigation, she said, “Social media is more detrimental for girls, and gaming is more detrimental for boys.”
Popular photo-sharing platforms such as Instagram are linked to appearance anxiety and higher risk of eating disorders for girls, studies show, and interactive gaming such as Fortnite or Grand Theft Auto are the source of prolonged screen time in boys, with the negative effects being less sleep and aggressive feelings, studies show.
Young people are aware of these unfavorable effects.
One Cabrillo College student I spoke to, 20-year-old Terra Nasr, checked her screen time from her phone’s settings during our interview. The data dashboard showed an average of 5 hours per day usage.
She said short-form content such as TikTok videos are the most addicting and her reason for long hours of screen time. She agreed with Gov. Newsom calling for restrictions, saying, “(Phones) are a piece of tech that can access much more than parents are ready for.”
Another Cabrillo student, Tara Jacobson, explained how personal marketing leads to unhealthy comparisons: “If an influencer says ‘I’m so fat, I’m a size 6’ then a size 6 is considered fat. It can lead to body dysmorphia.”
An influencer is someone with a large loyal following on social media — often paid by brands to promote products or lifestyles.
However, there’s hope. Butterworth’s advice for parents concerned about their child’s online presence is:” Don’t want your kid on the phone? Get off yours.”
She advised: Wait until your child is 16 before letting them be on social media.
She echoed the governor,” Phone-free schools are absolutely necessary.”
Butterworth explained, ”If I didn’t believe we could change the trajectory, I wouldn’t be working so hard.”
She believes that culture surrounding social media can change for the wellness of our youth.
The Center for Child and Adolescent Mental Health, at 4630 Soquel Drive #10, Soquel, offers virtual and in-person meetings. Treatment is available on a sliding scale.
On the last Wednesday of each month at 5:30 p.m., Free Parent Drop-In Zoom sessions take place, when parents can ask youth mental health experts questions and learn from other parent experiences.
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For info or to schedule an appointment contact (831) 222-0052 or email [email protected]