Ep. 55 The Mental Health Impacts of Social Media on Teens AND Adults
- Neil Parekh
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
How do we live with technology that can simultaneously connect us, help us and harm us? The goal isn't necessarily to get off social media. We have to figure out how to use it in a way that is healthy and balanced, particularly for those of us who use it for advocacy and/or as part of our job.
Sree Sreenivasan joins me and Dawn Neuburg for Ep. 55 of Shining Light on Shadows: A Candid Conversation About Mental Health, “The Mental Health Impacts of Social Media on Teens AND Adults” Thursday, August 27 at 7pm ET / 6pm CT / 4pm PT.
Watch the live show or recording on this website or watch and comment on social media: Facebook* | Twitter** | LinkedIn | YouTube | Instagram**
*Facebook will delete the video in 30 days.
**We won't know the exact urls for Twitter or Instagram until we go live Thursday evening. For now, these links go to the main pages of my accounts.
Some of the key questions we’ll address: What habits are parents modeling for their younger children, when should teens be allowed to start using social media (does watching YouTube videos count?), and what protections actually help?
A lot of attention has been paid to how teens respond to likes, notifications, etc. but the same dynamics play out for adults. Facebook envy is a real thing. Getting excited about likes or disappointed by crickets on your latest social media post can definitely impact your sense of self. Not to mention the question of staying present when you’re out with friends (vs. buried in your phone).
We’ll also explore some of the practical boundaries families and adults can establish for social media use.
Sree Sreenivasan is the CEO of Digimentors, a social and digital consulting firm, and sponsor of this show. He taught what was then called “new media” at Columbia Journalism School almost 30 years ago and stayed for twenty years before becoming the first Chief Digital Officer of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I have been working with him at Digimentors for the past six years and have worked on various social media projects with him for more than 10 years.
He is the father of twins and worked to balance his very extensive social media presence with family time while his children were growing up.
Sree’s Newsletters on Social Media and Mental Health
Sree has written several editions of his newsletter focused on this topic. Let’s Talk About Teen Mental Health
Sree argues that social media is contributing to a serious youth mental-health crisis, with risks ranging from body-image pressures and anxiety to self-harm. He emphasizes that families should take those risks seriously even as research continues to develop.
Starting with calls for stronger protections for young people, Sree argues that adults should examine their own relationship with social media too. He connects heavy social-media use with loneliness, lost real-world interaction and other harms that don’t disappear when someone turns 18.
Sree argues that regulation alone won’t solve social media’s problems: bullying, social comparison and unhealthy habits require changes at home and in how we use technology. He also acknowledges social media’s benefits and argues for taking greater control of our digital lives rather than simply abandoning them.
Programming Notes
Alison DeCamp joined us for Ep. 54, “Compassion Before Cleanup: Mental Health, Clutter and Shame” on August 13. It was a particularly moving episode for me because I have struggled with the shame and embarrassment of clutter for years.
During the episode I shared pictures of what my office looks like (what you don’t see on camera). Several viewers used the comments to share their own challenges with clutter in the comments. It was a huge relief for me to talk about it and see I wasn’t alone.
If you click through, I’ve posted before and after pictures of my room. I still have some work to do, but “Progress, not Perfection. Right?”
Background
Dawn and I launched this twice a month show (the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month) in order to help reduce the stigma associated with mental health. Thank you for being part of our community.
We are proud to be in Year 3 of the show. If you are interested in being a guest on the show or know someone who might be interested, please let us know. We’re looking for people who would be willing to share their story, advocates and people who work in the field of mental health.
We hope you can watch the show and share your own thoughts in the comments.
Resources / Relevant Links
Sree Sreenivasan's Substack
sreenet.substack.com
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Helpline
800-950-6264 Or text "HelpLine" to 6264; nami.org
Mental Health America Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org; mhanational.org Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) National Sexual Assault Hotline 800-656-HOPE (4673); rainn.org
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