Research shows that over 91% of teenagers aged 13-17 are overly active on multiple social media platforms. Today, social media has a huge impact on our world and its people. It just keeps getting more popular as the years go by. Social media is hazardous, especially for young minds, and keeping children off of the platforms would solve many problems. Keeping them off of these apps until they are mature enough to be able to see the warning signs and know what to stay away from is extremely important in today's world. The effects of social media on these children are endless but just some of them are their mental and physical health, social wellness, and their privacy and safety. While there are some positives to social media they are overpowered by the negative effects and content that social media provides. There are many things that the parents and guardians of their kids on social media can do to make the unsafe place that social media has become, avoidable.

 Social media has a huge impact on everyone's mental health. Having young minds on these apps is not good for them because of everything they are exposed to while using them. They are not mature enough to know what is good and what is bad, what not to listen to, and when someone or something is putting their safety at risk. Kathy Katella from Yale Medicine on January 8, 2024 states that “nearly 40% of children ages 8–12 use social media.” Kids this young do not have the correct knowledge to know how to stay safe online. They tend to believe everything they see on the internet and some of the stuff that they are exposed to is not for them to see, causing issues. Social media impacts physical health as well. Social media is addicting and this leads to people being on their screens constantly. There are many effects to that like inactivity, poor sleep, and poor nutrition. All of these things can lead to health issues and different disorders. Social media has a lot to do with body image. Young teenagers see these standards and they feel as if that is how they have to look. This standard leads to body dysmorphia, and eating disorders and teaches them to compare themselves to others. As stated in an article from the Mental Health Foundation titled “ Body Image in Childhood” “ 40% of young people (26% of boys and 54% of girls) said that images on social media have caused them to worry about their body image.” These people are just kids and they are worrying about the way that they look. Not only does social media affect teenager’s mental and physical health but it also affects their social wellness and safety.

Social wellness is the relationships and connections people have with others. Social media is taking away social wellness from today's generation because they need to connect with others outside their devices which they aren’t doing. Young teenagers need to have relationships with others their age but with social media, they lack those social skills. When they are with others they are on their phones and not connecting. Not only is it affecting their relationships with others but kids are always inside, they never play outside with their friends, they are inside playing video games or on their phones. Another risk to social media is privacy and safety. Social media is a scary place and a lot can happen if someone isn’t using it safely and smartly. Kids are on social media when they aren’t old enough and mature enough to know what and who to stay away from is very dangerous and puts their safety at risk. When social predators try to put a child in danger they know what they are doing. They make it so children don’t want to tell their parents so they do not get into trouble. Young teens are easy to fall for this because they are gullible. To avoid this parents can show these young teens the warning signs of social predators online and show them what to stay away from.

 Another thing that occurs often online is cyberbullying. Justin W. Patchin from The Cyberbullying Research Center on October 3, 2023 addresses that “In 2016, 10.3% of students told us that they had stayed home from school because of cyberbullying. In 2023, that number nearly doubled to 19.2%. Finally, in 2016, about 43% of students said that bullying and cyberbullying were “a big problem” in their schools while in 2023 54% of students said that was the case.” Based on those statistics the rise in cyberbullying has become greater as social media gets more popular. There are many things parents can do to keep kids off social media until they are mature enough. As stated previously, keeping kids off of social media until they are old enough to know what and who to avoid and not to believe everything they see, along with many other things. Making sure that parents have settings on their kid's phone to keep them safe is extremely important. One step to this is keeping control over the kid's phones to make sure the parent knows what is going on for them for their safety. Parents should teach their kids the harmful stuff that social media comes with.

Most children in the U.S. are active on multiple social media platforms and having young children on those social media platforms is becoming more popular as social media becomes more popular. Keeping young kids off of social media is extremely important because of all of the harmful content and people that social media comes with. There are so many effects of the harmful stuff on social media including the child's physical and mental health, and their social wellness. While there may be some positives including the education it provides and the accessibility they get to new information the negatives overpower the positives by a lot. There are many things parents can do to keep their kids safe and off of the harmful place social media has become, including setting limits and restrictions, keeping control over the child’s phone, and many other things.