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One of the questions that most concern parents of young children is when they can be allowed to join social networks.
According to the head of the public health services of the United States, Dr. Vivek Marty, the answer to this is clear. In an interview he gave this week, he said that "he believes that the age of 13 is too young for children to be on social media platforms."
Although websites allow children of this age to join , they are still "developing their identity," he explained. Meta, which owns Instagram and Facebook, Twitter and a host of other social media giants, currently allow 13-year-olds to join their platforms.
"I, personally, based on the data I've seen, believe that 13 is too early... It is a time when it is important to be aware of what is happening to the way young people think about their self-worth and their relationships.
The distorted environment of social media often does harm to many of these children," Dr. Marty said on CNN Newsroom.
present a uniform front
The number of teenagers on social media has raised concern among medical professionals, who point to a growing body of research on the harm such platforms can cause to teens.
Dr. Marty acknowledged the difficulties of keeping children away from these platforms given their popularity, but suggested that parents present a united front to the children and thus succeed. Whatever age they choose, it's a much more effective strategy to make sure the children aren't exposed to such harm at an early stage," he said.
According to a study published this month in JAMA Pediatrics, social media use can change the chemistry of teenagers' brains.
Students who accessed social media more regularly displayed greater neural sensitivity in certain parts of their brains, making their brains more sensitive to social consequences over time.
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Why do social networks hurt girls more than boys?
To the full article
13 It's too early.
Illustration of a child in front of social networks (Photo: ShutterStock)
Recent studies show other ways in which excessive screen time can affect brain development.
In young children, for example, excessive screen time was significantly associated with poorer literacy and expressive language skills.
In the interview, Dr. Marty referred to addictive algorithms in a similar way, explaining that pitting teenagers against Big Tech is "simply not a fair fight.
You have some of the best designers and product developers in the world designing these products to make sure people maximize the amount of time they spend on these platforms.
And if we say to a child, use your willpower to control how much time you spend, you're pitting a child against the greatest product designers in the world."
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