A recent study reveals that depression among youth has doubled, anxiety has quadrupled, and emergency visits for self-harm among teenage girls have surged by 138%. The Macdonald-Laurier Institute  report  attributes these issues to smartphones and social media.

Their report, "Wired for Worry," provides six policy recommendations, including raising the minimum age for social media to 16, emphasizing that outright prohibiting use may be more effective than regulating content. The aim is to restore a childhood experience centered around in-person connections rather than social media.

A new study by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that "researchers who followed nearly 12,000 children found the more time nine- and 10-year-olds spend engaged with social media, the more depressive symptoms they have a year or two years later. Kids’ social media use soared, on average, from seven to 73 minutes per day, over the three years of the study, and their depressive symptoms rose by 35 per cent, according to the paper, published in JAMA Network Open."

Finally, Parents Need to Watch their Screentime Too, and set a good example for kids.  May have a social media break challenge with  your kids and do something together. A Stanford University experiment, shows a social media detox -- unplugging from your devices and social media channels for a period of time--is a positive impact on mental health.