LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) – We all can try to remember being 13 years old.
It’s an impressionable age when children are developing their identity and how they see the world.
This is why the U.S. Surgeon General said kids 13 years old and younger shouldn’t be on social media.
“This skewed, and often distorted environment of social media often does a disservice to many of those children,” said Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy.
According to Integrated Behavioral Health Psychologist Gabrielle Pointon, your frontal lobe isn’t fully developed at this age.
That’s the part of your brain that controls reasoning and decision-making.
“And when we bring social media into the mix, many times what can happen is we can see things like impaired learning ability, we can see things like impaired attention, more distractibility,” said Pointon.
The constant negativity and comparison can also lead to low self-esteem, depression, and anxiety. Additionally, Pointon said that social media can be addictive.
“You’re looking for those notifications, they pop up, you get that immediate hit of dopamine. Well, children are much more vulnerable at that,” said Pointon.
Pointon encourages parents to have ongoing conversations about the dangers of the internet with their kids, as well as limiting screen time.
Pointon also says social media can be helpful for children who have trouble forming in-person relationships
