Does Facebook Make Teens Sad?

Parents, librarians and teachers are all charged with maintaining the health and safety of children and teens under our care, so it's no wonder we worry so much about what they are doing. One of the latest concerns is the effect of social media--online predators, sexting, and the latest threat "Facebook depression". In March the American Academy of Pediatrics released a report about children and teens' use of social media which revealed that indeed a great many younsters are online much of the time and that it's an important part of their lives. You can read the report online--it's quite short and strikes a sensible balance between showing concern for the cases of cyberbullying and depression that are linked to online use and the benefits teens gain by using these media. Relatively few children and teens are solicited or harrassed online by adults; most of their interactions are with their peers; online bullying seems to be no more common than face-to-face bullying. While parents and other adults should be alert and aware of what is going on, the solution isn't blocking the use of social media but encouraging discussion of the issues. As a follow-up to this report, Dr. Rahul Parikh, writing in Salon.com, describes what he calls "Our overblown paranoia about the Internet" and urges adults to accept the importance of online socialization for teens and tweens without panicking about possible misuse. Technology is constantly changing, young people have to learn to live with changes and to learn how to handle them, so adults who want to help children grow should accept the world they live in and not give way to unreasonable fears or try to place unnecessary walls around youngster's experience. After all, Rapunzel's guardian couldn't keep her locked up forever--and neither can we. We should help children learn how to live in the world not hide from it.