Understadning the impact of socialmedia on adolescent wellbeing /
Stephanie M. Reich
- Vol 101 (1) pages 66-71 : illustrations ; 28 cm
Social media has become a key part of adolescence, with almost all teens being regular users.' At the same time that social media use is on the rise, so are teens' mental health challenges? Thus, it is natural to wonder if or how social media contributes to youth's declining wellbeing." To address this ques-tion, the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) assembled a team of researchers from diverse fields to draft a consensus report on the impacts of social media for adoles-cents. Although initially focused on mental health, the committee took a broader perspective on overall wellbeing, including both mental and physical health, to consider not just the absence of illness, but whether a child is thriving. Though this question seems straightforward, answering it was not. This article explains some of the challenges and highlights the conclusions and recommendations based the research to date.