It's official, Social Media is toxic for our youth

A Student Well-being Activist Shares What Parents Can Do to Protect Their Children

Oxford, MS (June 2023)—The U.S. Surgeon General just confirmed what we’ve all long suspected: Social media is harmful to young people. In a recent public advisory warning of the risks social media use poses to children and teens, Dr. Vivek H. Murthy says; While we don’t yet know the full impact on our young people, there are “ample indicators that social media can also have a profound risk of harm to the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents.”

Student well-being activist David Magee couldn’t agree more.

“Too much social media is outright toxic for young people,” asserts Magee, author of the upcoming book Things Have Changed: What Every Parent (and Educator) Should Know About the Student Mental Health and Substance Misuse Crisis and award-winning book Dear William: A Father’s Memoir of Addiction, Recovery, Love, and Loss. “At a time when children and teens should be building social skills, deepening relationships with friends and loved ones, and pursuing their interests, they are feeding an addiction to apps like TikTok and Snapchat. And it’s not even giving them the joy and happiness they are seeking. In fact, it’s making them sick and miserable.”

Social media is a “joy thief” in many ways, says Magee, who travels the country speaking with parents and children about substance misuse and mental health. Social media apps fuel rising levels of stress, depression, and anxiety. They contribute to sleep disturbances, which cause a domino effect of symptoms mimicking ADHD, along with roller-coaster emotions and impulses. They lead to body image issues and dangerous eating disorders. They expose children to bullying, destroy their self-esteem, and even target them with messages from drug pushers.