Virtually every parent in my practice (and my personal life) asks this same question: “How concerned should I be about my kids’ use of screens and social media?” 

Parental concerns are shared by the Surgeon General of the United States, Dr. Vivek Murthy, who last year made his perspective public. In the advisory entitled, “Social Media and Youth Mental Health,” Dr. Murthy notes:

  “There is growing evidence that social media use is associated with harm to young people’s mental health….And for too many children, social media use is compromising their sleep and valuable in-person time with family and friends.

“We are in the middle of a national youth mental health crisis and I am concerned that social media is an important driver of that crisis – one we must urgently address.”