A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Steve, I'm sure you know this. The teens love their phones, and they also like social media.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Unlike adults who are never on their phones and completely lost in another place. But anyway, go on, go on.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah. I think we're all in that same situation. Now, research shows that going back to school coincides with a surge in teen mental health problems. Rose Conlon from member station KMUW Reports.
ROSE CONLON, BYLINE: High school senior Maggie Elliott likes talking to friends on Snapchat and getting inspiration for art projects on Instagram. But she says it's easy to spend too much time on social media.
MAGGIE ELLIOTT: Like, ah, just one more video, oh, just one more video, and then time goes by - I'm like, I've wasted 2 hours when I could have done something else.
CONLON: Like homework, hobbies or hanging out with friends. Her mom, Sarah Elliott, says, she does it, too.
SARAH ELLIOTT: Because it's such - it's an access to news, current events. That's where I get sucked in on my Instagram. But on the political side, depending on what it triggers in me, can be unhealthy. I got pretty worked up over the weekend in the conversation.
M ELLIOTT: Yeah, you did.
S ELLIOTT: And so (laughter) - yeah.
CONLON: Scrolling for hours probably isn't great for anyone. But research shows it's especially bad for teens and their developing brains. American teens now average nearly five hours per day on social media, according to a Gallup survey, and heavy users are much more likely to report having poor mental health. U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy wants social media companies to warn users that their platforms have been tied to rising mental health issues in teens. Sarah, an elementary and middle school teacher, thinks the sites supercharge the ways her students compare themselves to each other.
S ELLIOTT: It's past just how you look. It is how many likes do I have? How many followers do I have? Oh, my gosh, did you see what she posted? And it creates a different form of insecurity.
CONLON: Mental illness in teens has been rising for years. But experts say it escalated during the pandemic when everyone started spending a lot more time online. In 2020, the Wichita-based behavioral health center COMCARE saw a 225% increase in youth needing to be hospitalized or placed in a psychiatric treatment facility due to harming themselves or others. Four years later, COMCARE quality director Michelle Calvert says, those numbers still haven't gone down.
MICHELLE CALVERT: The problems that came from the pandemic for our youth with their social skills, their isolation, higher rates of depression, higher rates of suicidal thinking - all that's still happening.
CONLON: From his office in East Wichita, therapist Grant Pritz recommends some of his patients try taking breaks from social media. Still, he acknowledges it isn't all bad.
GRANT PRITZ: Social media was not created with the purpose of making people feel terrible about themselves. You know, it was made as a source to connect people.
CONLON: But he says it can make things like body image issues worse. That's why it's crucial for teens to learn how to use social media responsibly, because those habits will likely follow them into adulthood. Back at COMCARE, Calvert says that's where parents come in.
CALVERT: You don't just give the keys to the car to a kid and send them on their way. We teach them. We drive first. We need to do all that with social media and phones as well.
CONLON: That means parents modeling healthy social media habits themselves. Mother and daughter Sarah and Maggie Elliott say they see social media's good side too.
S ELLIOTT: I actually - when I'm really stressed after a long day at work, I will go into Instagram and watch silly animal videos.
M ELLIOTT: And she sends them to me.
S ELLIOTT: And then - yes, bunny rabbits mainly.
CONLON: For all the problems with social media, it also helps Sarah and Maggie keep their connection strong, one bunny video at a time.
For NPR News, I'm Rose Conlon in Derby, Kan. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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