Where are our kids growing up?

The US Surgeon General released a VERY SIGNIFICANT advisory this week regarding social media and youth mental health that should have us all sitting up, paying attention, and making some serious adjustments – especially those of us who are parents of teens and preteens, educators, therapists, coaches, pastors, etc! For today, I’m just going to highlight the critical points and offer a general recommendation. But I will be following up with more specific concerns and recommendations throughout the course of this summer.

1. On a typical weekday, nearly one in three adolescents report using screens (mostly social media) until midnight or later.

2. Studies are increasingly showing a relationship between excessive social media use and poor sleep (quantity and quality) and depression among youth.

3. Many youth are exposed to relentless bullying online. Nearly 6 in 10 adolescent girls say they’ve been contacted by strangers in ways that make them feel uncomfortable.

4. 46% of teens actually report social media use as something that makes them feel worse, and yet, they continue to participate on a nearly constant basis!

Our kids, at an increasingly alarming rate, are growing up in an online world that is removing them further and further from a healthy grounding in real world goodness. My challenge to all of us who are parents of kids at any age who are still living at home with us is this:

Let’s intentionally expect and require our kids to make time this summer to get out of their little air conditioned boxes of digital entertainment and social media to experience some real world challenge, adventure, learning, and growth!!! As I said, I will be following up soon with specific tips, but let’s all be working on opportunities and expectations for our kids to get out and move about, navigating the challenges and opportunities afforded by the good ole real world all around us all. And Richard Louv’s book, “Last Child in the Woods” is a great place to start.