A recent study published in The American Journal of Psychiatry has found that the earlier and more rapidly adolescents use social media, the more likely they are to experiment with substances such as alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis. The study, which analyzed data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study, broke adolescents into four groups based on their social media use patterns.

Findings and Implications

The study found that adolescents who fell into the three categories of increasing social media use had higher odds of substance experimentation compared to their peers who reported little or no social media use. The youths in the highest and earliest use category had nearly 17 times the odds of experimenting with cannabis and 14 times the odds of experimenting with tobacco as kids with little or no use.

According to Dr. Jason M. Nagata, the lead study author, social media portrays much of the substance use in a positive light, which can influence the decision to experiment with substances. He notes that people are less likely to post the adverse consequences of substance use, creating a biased view of substance use on social media.

Experts recommend that parents have a family media plan in place, which includes setting boundaries and guiding children on the best practices for social media use. The American Academy of Pediatrics also recommends having open and honest conversations with children about social media use and its potential effects on their behavior and mental health.

Guidance for Parents

The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests using the “5 C’s” of media use, which include tailoring care based on the child, monitoring and learning what content the adolescent interacts with, providing other ways for the child to calm down besides using the phone, understanding how phone use could be crowding out family time, and starting to communicate with the child early.

Healthy communication gives children more autonomy in decision-making surrounding phone use. Instead of restricting use without explanation, taking an interest and asking about children’s social media activity and discussing what type of content they’re looking at is more beneficial.

Original reporting: KRDO (Colorado Springs metro) — read the source article.