There is so much good advice that I don’t have anything to add, other than to remember how many children don’t tell anyone for years, if ever. This is why the topic is so important.
We know that kids who can access mental health support during traumatic childhoods fare significantly better in every aspect than kids who are unable to do so. If we want to do something about not only the youth mental health crisis, but also future adult mental and physical health issues, one of the best things we could do is invest in support systems for children.
But, we don’t. We have never made the kind of commitment that is necessary, and now we are cutting the meager programs that do exist.
The point I want to make is not that social media is perfectly safe. I want us to understand that it is nuanced, and the impact on any one kid is undetermined. We know that kids with strong connections are safer and have better mental health. Instead of assuming that we’ve solved the youth mental health issue by blocking social media, let’s make sure our kids have the kind of community that helps rather than harms their mental health.
To mark Mental Health Awareness Month, KQED compiled a list of shows related to mental health and youth mental health for listeners. If you’re looking for some mental health shows to learn from, you could do worse than browse the featured one they shared, and the link to all of their previous mental health resources….
Social media is easy to target, but it’s not likely the most effective change to make for the benefit of youth mental health. The others take more work and get fewer headlines, so here we are.
If you do not have significant resources available to you in terms of money, time, and connections, it is possible that the only way to get any treatment for your child is to turn them over to the state.
That’s no way to care for the next generation.
