Alarming headlines have filled the news this past week. First, there was a chilling exposé of a website that encourages teenagers to take their own lives. Then Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri’s testimony before Congress failed to articulate safeguards for teens’ mental health, despite research that links the social media site to teen depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation.
There is no doubt that the nation’s youth are hurting. The one-two punch of pandemic-related isolation and social media exploiting children’s vulnerabilities has scarred our teens and young adults.
By Dr. Sina Safahieh, child and adolescent psychiatrist at Hoag.