US Surgeon General Dr Vivek Murthy recently published a report emphasising the urgent need to address the impact of social media on young people's mental health. He argued that policymakers should act based on a safety-first approach and set up guidelines to protect children's privacy and welfare. This call to action resonates globally, as nearly 95 percent of 13-17-year-olds use social media, with over one-third admitting to being constantly online.

While social media has the potential to educate, connect, and entertain, its risks cannot be ignored. Studies reveal startling trends: adolescents spending over three hours daily on social media are twice as likely to face anxiety and depression. College students who limited their usage to 30 minutes per day for just three weeks reported significant reductions in depressive symptoms. These findings highlight an undeniable connection between excessive use and mental health challenges.

Adolescents can easily access content on social media that is inappropriate and harmful for their age. In some cases, content related to suicide, self-harm, and risk-taking has led to teen deaths. Excessive and problematic social media use has been linked to sleep problems, attention issues, and feelings of exclusion among adolescents.

The impact of social media on adolescents depends on several factors. These include how much time they are spending on the platform, what kind of content they are exposed to, what they are doing here, how they interact with others on the platform, etc. Not everyone is affected in the same way. At the individual level, everyone's abilities and risks are different. That factor also plays a role in the impact of social media on mental health. Despite individual differences in susceptibility, the patterns are clear: unchecked social media use is harming the youth.

There is not much data available on the mental health and social media usage of Bangladeshi adolescents. However, there have been media reports on them suffering because of this. There have been a number of cases of adolescent girls being raped and killed after meeting young men they got to know through Facebook.

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Constant comparison on social media fosters dissatisfaction with physical appearances, often leading to eating disorders and erosion of self-confidence. This phenomenon is especially prevalent among adolescent girls, magnifying the need for targeted interventions. The film I Am Ruth highlighted this issue. The story is about a mother who struggles to help her teenage daughter as she becomes obsessed with social media trends. Kate Winslet, who plays the role of the mother, says she doesn't allow her teenage daughter to use social media.

The responsibility to mitigate the harm of social media lies with governments, technology companies, educators, parents, and guardians. While Bangladesh has introduced initiatives to teach online safety, these efforts must be expanded. Developing a comprehensive curriculum on social media literacy and safety is imperative. Equipping adolescents with knowledge will empower them to protect themselves. Digital and media literacy provides children and young people with skills to strengthen digital resilience, or the ability to recognise, manage, and recover from online risks, eg cyberbullying and other forms of online harassment and abuse, as well as excessive social media use.

Technology companies have a responsibility to prioritise the users' health and safety when developing social media-related products and services. The state should come forward to ensure their accountability. Policymakers must establish robust safety standards to safeguard young users.

Creating a family social media plan can help balance online and offline activities, set time limits, and discourage sharing personal information. It is also necessary to practise being free of electronic devices for a certain amount of time every day.

Parents can play a vital role in ensuring their children's safety by helping with the development of their social and emotional skills, and by raising them to be self-confident. By spending time with their children and listening to them attentively, parents can learn about their interests and various aspects of life, including their friends. This way, they will be able to properly guide their children to navigate both the real and virtual worlds. Leading by example, parents who model moderate and mindful social media use encourage their children to do the same.

The stakes are high. If we fail to act decisively, the question posed by Dr Vivek Murthy will haunt us: "If we don't set safety standards and provide more support to young people and their parents, we will look back in five to ten years from now and say, What were we thinking?" Let's unite to protect our youth from the potentially devastating effects of social media, ensuring a safer and healthier future for the next generation.

Laila Khondkar is an international development worker.

Views expressed in this article are the author's own.

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