Skip to Main Content
Skip Nav Destination
AAP leaders attend a White House event on online safety.

AAP Center of Excellence on Social Media and Youth Mental Health leaders Megan A. Moreno, M.D., M.P.H., M.S.Ed., FAAP, co-medical director; Nicole Owings-Fonner, director; and Jenny Radesky, M.D., FAAP, co-medical director, attend a White House event on protecting children online.

Task force recommendations on safe internet use feature new AAP resources

July 22, 2024

A federal task force has released recommendations for safe internet use for children and teens featuring new resources created in partnership with the AAP.

“President Biden has made addressing the youth mental health crisis a top priority. That’s why we are taking steps to ensure the safety and well-being of young people when they use social media and online platforms,” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, J.D., said in a statement. “The Biden-Harris Administration has whole-of-government approach to protect the mental health, safety, and privacy of youth online, but it will take more than government alone to achieve results.”

The report Online Health and Safety for Children and Youth: Best Practices for Families and Guidance for Industry comes from the Kids Online Health and Safety Task Force, co-led by HHS’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). It includes best practices for families centered around AAP Center of Excellence on Social Media and Youth Mental Health tools and strategies. It also has recommendations for industry, action steps for policymakers and a research agenda.

About 95% of teens and 40% of children ages 8-12 years use some form of social media, according to the report. While it can provide a learning experience and promote community, social media also can expose youths to bullying, discrimination, sexual exploitation and inaccurate information. Last year, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy, M.D., M.B.A., released an advisory saying social media carries “profound risk of harm” to youths and calling on policymakers, researchers, tech companies, parents and adolescents to make social media safer.

The task force’s new report provides five overarching steps for parents and caregivers.

  • Build a family media plan.
  • Balance time with and without devices.
  • Talk about social media.
  • Set a good example.
  • Optimize your family’s online experience.

These and other recommendations in the task force report are informed by the AAP Center of Excellence on Social Media and Youth Mental Health’s evidence-based approach for providers and families to think about and discuss healthy media consumption, the 5 C’s of Media Use — Child, Content, Calm, Crowding Out and Communication.

Megan A. Moreno, M.D., M.P.H., M.S.Ed., FAAP, co-medical director of the AAP Center of Excellence, commended SAMHSA and the NTIA for addressing the impact of social media on youth mental health.

“To help make the report’s recommendations accessible and actionable, we’ve published new resources for families and those who work with them, including conversation starters and activities to help parents and caregivers know what to say and how to begin building foundational skills,” Dr. Moreno said. “We are pleased to be a strong partner in this work.”

The Center of Excellence, which aims to provide practical solutions for media use, created these conversation starters and activity cards in collaboration with the task force. The conversation starters include topics like setting boundaries, unwanted content, too much gaming, technology interfering with sleep and parents talking about their own media use.

The AAP also has released strategies and activities to help young children develop a healthy relationship with media, a compendium of resources, expanded content for teens and advice for families on HealthyChildren.org.

In addition to guidance for families, the task force report provides recommendations for online service providers, including designing age-appropriate experiences, improving privacy protections, reducing features that encourage excessive use, limiting “likes” and social comparison features, and developing strategies to counter child sexual abuse.

The task force also is calling on policymakers to enact legislation to protect youth online, encourage industry best practices and to support research and new resources.

“We want people — especially young people — to thrive online,” U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo, J.D., Ph.D., said in a statement. “The recommendations in our report will chart a path toward an Internet that works for everyone.”

Resources

Close Modal

or Create an Account

Close Modal
Close Modal