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A year after the American Psychological Association issued a landmark health advisory on social media use in adolescence, they are urging legislators and technology companies to take greater measures to protect adolescent mental health. The APA says that social media platforms are intended for adults and not “inherently suitable for youth.” Technology companies have made few …
Continue reading “Social media “particularly risky” for youth”
Over the past decade evidence has been building about the potential negative psychological outcomes of social media use for teenagers. A more recent research study of American adolescents ages 12 to 15 suggest those who use social media for over three hours per day were twice as likely to suffer negative mental health outcomes including …
Continue reading “Social Media’s impact on Teen Mental Health”
Results from the CDC’s 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey recently published show a disturbing trend. Almost 3 in 5 adolescent girls (57%) said they felt “persistently sad or hopeless” – the highest rate in a decade. And 30% of girls said they have seriously considered dying by suicide — a number that’s risen 60% over …
In the 6 months after launch the 988 Mental Health and Suicide Line has recorded over 2 million calls, text and chat messages. It could not come at a more ideal time as depression rates among children and adults continue to rise. The volume is more than officials could have anticipated and has led to …
Today the National Suicide and Crisis hotline changes its number to 988 to make the system more accessible. One can text or call this number and be routed to a mental health counselor within 60-90 seconds. There is hope that this is the beginning of a bigger push for mental health care access, especially in …
From 2009 to 2021 the percent of high school students reporting “persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness” rose from 26 percent to 44 percent according to a CDC study. This is the highest level of sadness ever recorded. Derek Thompson writes in The Atlantic after analyzing CDC data that almost every measure of mental health …
New research indicates suicidal thoughts are on the rise among teens and young adults. The February 3rd issue of the Wall Street Journal (Apple News) recently published a great article titled “What Parents Can Do When Kids Have Suicidal Thoughts” by Andrea Petersen. Undoubtedly this trend has grown during the pandemic. A June 2020 survey …
Teenage social media use and mental health has received a great deal of attention and scrutiny. However, a recent large-scale study also links social media use and depression among adults. We’re experiencing a mental health crisis where one-third of adults in the U.S. are depressed according to an October study. This number is up from …
Check out the August/September issue of DFW Child. I was interviewed for an article on how to avoid entitlement issues raising your kids. Gina Mayfield wrote a helpful and practical article for parents. “How to Stop Spoiling Your Child and Why”
Hope everyone has a great start to the new school year! Here’s my College Freshman and High School Freshman.