Rohit Shishodia

Spending hours on social media sites is greatly impacting the mental health of teenagers, Rachna Khanna Singh, Consultant - Mental Health and Behavioral Science, Artemis Hospital, Gurugram said.

It may be noted that the lockdown imposed in response to COVID19 forced children to stay at home. Schools and colleges remained shut for around two years due to a deadly pandemic. Children were glued to smartphones and laptops, limiting their outdoor activities,  resulting in a negative impact on their overall health.

Sharing his concern to the media on occasion of World Social Media Day celebrated on June 30, Dr Khanna said teenagers are today spending excessive time on social media, which is adversely impacting their mental health.

 Dr Rachna Khanna Singh, “Today, our lives have become predominantly online due to COVID19 and its aftereffects, be it work, school, or catching up with friends. As teenagers spend the majority of their time on social media, it results in them becoming more introverted and they begin to face difficulties in making friends and talking to people. Teenagers are being guided by a virtual, fake world where there is immense competition, comparative issues, financial hardships, and fleeting, multiple relationships.”

 Additionally, sedentary lifestyle has given rise to various addictions be it a gaming, social media, pornography, or gambling addiction. The National Alliance on Mental Illness cites that one in five teenagers, aged 13-18, will have a mental illness. 11% of the population would suffer from a mood disorder like depression, or bipolar disorder and 8% would be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder like GAD, panic disorder, OCD, or social anxiety disorder.

 Dr Singh, added, “Children today are more concerned about their followers on social media rather than developing friendships in flesh and blood. This could negatively affect teenagers by distracting them, disrupting their sleep, and could expose them to bullying, rumour spreading, unrealistic views of other people’s lives and immense peer pressure. Behavioural changes like not spending enough time with friends and family, being aloof and low, spending more time on the phone and in the room, having a drastic change in academic results and seeing changes in mood and behaviour are concerning and should be looked into urgently”,

Mental health and psychological issues being witnessed in children today are depression, anxiety, loneliness, ADHD, eating disorders, behavioural issues, parent-child bonding issues, identity crisis, peer pressure, relationship issues be it parent-child or amongst friends, sexual concerns, and abuse/violence. Most of these can be attributed to the growing use of social media in the daily lives of children/adolescents today. Furthermore, it also could lead to an identity crisis as there is a major tussle between virtual relationships and real relationships today.

Dr Rachna Khanna Singh, “For Parents, educating younger kids on the risks of social media is of paramount importance. Their device time must be restricted to maintain a healthy balance and certain sites and webpages should be filtered through site blockers for age-appropriate viewing. Parents could also utilize cyberbullying resources, could stay up to date on their child’s privacy settings and should set ground rules for social media use.”

She added, “It is also crucial to understand that communication is not built overnight. It must be developed slowly and gradually over a period of time. Gentle communication should be practiced through effective ways like engaging one’s child in routine conversations, be it about news or worldly affairs, information about relatives and family life, personal tales, etc. Moreover, having at least one family meal a deal would greatly complement this practice. Furthermore, restricting activity or movement will do you no good, until and unless it is for younger children.”