Do Kids Think Social Media is Harmful?

Late last year, the Pew Research Center conducted a survey of almost fourteen hundred teens, ages thirteen to seventeen, to come to an understanding of our teenagers’ experiences and attitudes around social media and their mental health. One of the most interesting findings is our teenagers’ shifting attitudes on whether or not social media is harmless, or harmful. Back in twenty twenty-two, thirty-two percent of our thirteen to seventeen year olds said that social media sites have a mostly negative effect on people their age. At the end of twenty-twenty-four, the percentage of kids saying the same thing had risen significantly to forty-eight percent. Parents, when our kids themselves are self-reporting that social media is harmful, we need to interpret that as a cry for help. God has given you the responsibility to raise and nurture your kids to spiritual maturity. Perhaps it’s time we realize that we must take steps to help them peel away from social media harm.