Clinicians should be aware of roles that social media play in child and adolescent health and development and be prepared to guide parents and patients toward best practices in social media use.
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Dr Victor Strasburger wrote in 2010: “The media are not the leading cause of any health problem in childhood or adolescence. However, they can make a substantial contribution to virtually every health concern that pediatricians and parents have about young people—aggression, sex, drugs, obesity, self-image and eating disorders, depression and suicide, even learning disorders and academic achievement.” (1) Since that time, the use of digital media has proliferated, along with our understanding of how such media affect child and adolescent health and development. To Dr Strasburger’s list we would now add risks including sleep deprivation, problematic Internet use, and Internet gaming disorder. At the same time, this...
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