To be healthy, teens need media literacy training; it's like 'learning to drive a car and should be a team effort'

Photo by Georgijevic, Getty Images via NBC News

Parents of youth have a lot of mental check-lists: Eighth-grade graduation? Check. Register for next-year's classes? Check. Media literacy training? Uh? What? For many parents, that might be a new one. The American Psychological Association released a set of 10 recommendations for adolescents' use of social media, "including training them in media literacy and limiting screen time so it does not interfere with sleep or physical activity," reports Kalhan Rosenblatt of NBC News. "The guidelines acknowledge that teenagers are going to use social media no matter what. . . . It aims to offer suggestions for adolescents and the parents, teachers and tech companies involved in their lives."

Social media's influence on adolescent development is often discussed, but not always presented with advice that stems science. Mitch Prinstein, a co-chair of the advisory panel that developed the recommendations, told Rosenblatt. "We are releasing this report now to offer a science-based and balanced perspective on this issue so all stakeholders can make decisions based on our expertise regarding benefits and potential risks associated with social media." Rosenblatt reports, "Prinstein compared teens' social media use to driving a car, in that keeping adolescents safe should be a team effort that includes policymaking, parental supervision and changes from the companies that make the products."

Here's an edited list of the APA's recommendations:

• Youth using social media should be encouraged to use functions that create opportunities for social support, online companionship, and emotional intimacy that can promote healthy socialization.
• Social media use, functionality, and permissions/consenting should be tailored to youths' developmental capabilities; designs created for adults may not be appropriate for children.
• In early adolescence (i.e., typically 10–14 years), adult monitoring (i.e., ongoing review, discussion, and coaching around social media content) is advised for most youths' social media use. . . . Monitoring should be balanced with youths' appropriate needs for privacy.
• To reduce the risks of psychological harm, adolescents' exposure to content on social media that depicts illegal or psychologically maladaptive behavior, including content that instructs or encourages youth to engage in health-risk behaviors, such as self-harm (e.g., cutting, suicide), harm to others, or those that encourage eating-disordered behavior (e.g., restrictive eating, purging, excessive exercise) should be minimized, reported, and removed.
• To minimize psychological harm, adolescents' exposure to "cyberhate," including online discrimination, prejudice, hate, or cyberbullying especially directed toward a marginalized group (e.g., racial, ethnic, gender, sexual, religious, ability status),22 or an individual because of their identity or allyship with a marginalized group should be minimized.
• Adolescents should be routinely screened for signs of "problematic social media use" that can impair their ability to engage in daily roles and routines and may present a risk for more serious psychological harm over time.
• The use of social media should be limited so as to not interfere with adolescents' sleep and physical activity.
• Adolescents should limit the use of social media for social comparison, particularly around beauty- or appearance-related content.
• Adolescents' social media use should be preceded by training in social media literacy to ensure that users have developed psychologically-informed competencies and skills that will maximize the chances for balanced, safe, and meaningful social media use.
• Substantial resources should be provided for continued scientific examination of the positive and negative effects of social media on adolescent development.