Colin Preece

 Clinical Head of Mental Health, Teladoc Health UK

Top tips from a mental health expert

Social media can be a lifeline for some young people – a means to connect, to identify and to find similarities with their peers. But growing up in an era of rapid digital evolution doesn’t come without its challenges, for children and parents alike. 

Clinical Head of Mental Health at Teladoc Health, Dr Colin Preece, shares his expert advice on how you can protect your child’s mental health while they’re online, as well as how to spot the warning signs of negative social media use.

Is social media a problem?

‘Social media can be accessed anytime, anywhere and plays an important role in our lives’ says Dr Preece. ‘While social media can be a safe and rewarding space, we’ve also seen the negative impacts that can come with it, especially on children and teens. Doomscrolling is a classic example of this.’

What is doomscrolling?

‘Coined during the pandemic, doomscrolling is the urge to absorb bad news. For some people it can be a way to make sense of what’s going on around them. But social media algorithms can also feed doomscrollers with more of what they read and watch until all they have is a constant stream of negative news.  This can keep them at a high level of anxiety for a long time, which could harm their mental health.’

How do I know if social media is harming my child’s mental health?

‘If your child is struggling because of social media, they may show the following signs:

• Significant mood changes, beyond what you’d normally expect
• Isolating from friends, family and activities they previously enjoyed
• Changes in eating or sleeping habits
• Increasing negative self-talk and a tendency to compare themselves to others
• Engaging in high-risk behaviours for follows and likes on social media.’

Four tips to prevent doomscrolling

Dr Preece has the following advice for parents trying to cut down on their child’s social media consumption:

'Focus their attention on something else. It’s easier said than done, but directing your child’s attention to something else, preferably away from their phone or computer, will limit their exposure to negative stories. Encourage them to do something that makes them feel good instead.

Give them a time limit. It’s good to stay informed – and that’s one of the great things about social media – but you can protect your child from doomscrolling territory by limiting them to ten minutes of scrolling per day. They can use wellness apps and use restriction settings to help them keep to time.

Seek out the good. Rather than reading about the bad stuff, why not encourage your child to watch something funny, read positive news or listen to a happy podcast instead?

Practice gratitude. Provide your child with a journal where they can write down what they’re grateful for. They could start by making a list of three things they’ve enjoyed that day or they could cycle through their senses and list something they saw, smelled, tasted heard or felt which made them happy. If writing isn’t their thing, perhaps work a gratitude session into your dinnertimes and share those good feelings as a family.'

Ways to improve your child’s social media hygiene

1. ‘The most important thing is to build a culture of open communication with your child. Creating a safe environment in your home will encourage your child to share any insecurities they have with you and will help you to identify and address how social media could be impacting their mental health.
2. Try to stay up to date with social media functions yourself, even if it’s just for awareness. Understanding how your child can engage with the social media world will mean you can better educate them on considerations, such as online privacy.
3. Monitor how much time your child is spending on social media. You may never be able to control exactly what your child is engaging with online but implementing house rules such as phone-free mealtimes, and keeping phones out of the bedroom at night, can build some balance into your child’s digital routine.’

For more information on social media and the impact it has on young people’s mental health, you can read our full article here.

The information in this article is correct at the time of publishing.