Social Media’s Negative Impact

In recent months, there’s been an increase in discussions regarding the negative impact of social media on our children and teens. I don’t find any of this surprising and I’m sure we will see these issues continue to mount. Research is showing the connection between increased amounts of time spent on social media, and a decline in mental health. There have been significant and measurable increases in suicide. Emergency-department admissions for self-harm have increased. For example, between 2010 and 2014, rates of hospital admissions for self-harm did not increase for women in their early twenties or for boys and young men. They did, however, double for girls ages ten to fourteen. There has also been increase in anxiety, depression, and mood disorders in our kids. I am concerned that we are living in a world where our kids are being de-formed by the downside of online time, rather than being formed by God’s Word into the people they’ve been created to be.