GREENSBORO, N.C. — A report from the American Psychological Association found teens are spending almost 5 hours a day on social media. Of those who spend the most time online, 41 percent rate their overall mental health as poor or very poor. Compare that to 23 percent of teens who are on social media the least.
Making this even more alarming, another new report from Mental Health America tracks how many people nationwide are screened for depression and harmful thoughts. And they are seeing a growth in teens having problems.
“I can tell you what our screeners tell us, which is very interesting for those who screen at positive or at risk, most of them say that what's concerning them the most or what's most affecting their mental health is issues of body image or self-image," said Mental Health America's President & CEO Schroeder Stribling. "You talk with your youth about what the risks are of using social media. And this is one of the risks there that one of the risks is being exposed to information, images, ideas that encourage you to compare yourself to others and also to be comparing your insides to somebody else's outsides."
Experts say it's also important to remind kids that what they are looking at on social media isn't also real life. A survey recently found 71 percent of people edit their selfies before posting them.
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