Should we ban social networks to adolescents?

In a text published in The echoes earlier this fall, French philosopher and writer Gaspard Kœnig wondered whether social media should be banned for people under 16. What aroused strong reactions. Is this the right approach? What are teens doing on social media?

Olivia levy
Press

At the same time, whistleblower Frances Haugen, a former Facebook employee, leaked media studies that showed Facebook was aware of the negative psychological consequences for teenage girls of being exposed to images posted on social media. like Instagram. And that despite everything, nothing has been done to protect young people.

Be careful, however.

She explains that there are studies which show that the more time young people spend on social networks and the more they compare themselves, the more they feel anxious and risk to have symptoms of depression and problems of self-esteem. themselves. But nuances are needed, she emphasizes.

“You have to understand that it is the teenagers who really spend a lot of time on social networks and that there is no consensus on the number of hours. Is it more than three or four hours a day and on which specific social network? Asks the psychologist specializing in the treatment of eating disorders. “The other important factor is that there are harmful effects on young people who already have frailty. Social networks will exacerbate this fragility. ”

A study published in 2019 and conducted by researchers affiliated with the CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center and the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Montreal reveals that the use of social media and television could increase symptoms of depression in teens. This four-year study of nearly 4,000 Canadian adolescents shows that the more frequently they use social media and television, the more severe symptoms of depression they show.

Read the study

And when they check out sites and shows that encourage them to compare themselves to others, they’re more likely to have low self-esteem. It is therefore important to monitor what teens are doing on social media and how much time they spend on it.

Good … and bad

Nina Duque, specialist in digital practices, believes that we must put into perspective what young people do on social networks. She doesn’t deny the problems, but points out that for the majority of teenagers, things are going well. “It’s a space that they primarily use to express themselves,” she says. Digital is the phone of the 1980s! We spent hours on the phone. It’s really what they do the most, chatting with their friends. Three quarters of the time, it is a sociability tool, especially among 12-15 year olds. ”

This is what Émilie Turgeon, 15, does. She uses social media to communicate with her friends, especially on Snapchat and Instagram. “And Facebook is to go on Messenger, to also talk to my friends! I text my parents, sisters and friends. I watch videos on YouTube, movies and series on Netflix. I also subscribe to Instagram accounts of influencers and artists like Charlotte Cardin. ”

Charlotte Touze, who turns 16 in December, also uses Instagram and Snapchat to talk to friends and participate in group chats. “On TikTok, as soon as I’m on it, I have a hard time getting rid of it. But I learn a lot of things there: cooking recipes, soccer tips, maths, it’s very useful. She says she spends between three and four hours a day on social media.

“Entertaining is the second use that young people make on social networks, then comes the sharing of content and discoveries”, specifies Nina Duque, doctoral student and lecturer in the department of social and public communication at the University of Quebec at Montreal. “It’s TV 2.0, there’s YouTube, TikTok, Netflix of course. Adolescence is a time of change, young people want to have fun, to discover new passions. ”

Psychologist Stéphanie Léonard emphasizes that the use of social networks is complicated to manage. Yes, there are negative effects that cannot be denied, but there are also a lot of positive elements. “It’s a way to tame relationships with others. You can learn all kinds of things there. You can also be exposed to benevolent content, talk about more delicate subjects. It also allows us to see body diversity. ”

Caroline Rouen-Mallet, lecturer at the University of Rouen, France, does not think that social networks should be banned for adolescents, but she warns of certain dangers.

She points out other problems that may arise. “There is also the difficulty of concentrating young people, addiction, cyberbullying. The problem of self-esteem, it’s part of our research to study the impact of digital consumption on the development of eating disorder, because by dint of consuming images from influencers, women appropriate new bodily standards, impose new models on themselves and constantly compare themselves to what they see. And this 24/7 comparison to perfect bodies ends up having a deleterious impact on their self-esteem, especially on Instagram. ”

Stéphanie Léonard specifies that the types of social networks that are the most damaging are those where the media is the image, like Instagram precisely. “There are those where feedback is important, expecting the number of likes is damaging to self-esteem, a like has the power to boost or depress. ”

However, some young people say they are aware of the unrealistic images that can be found there. “I know that on Instagram, perfect faces and bodies don’t match reality. We talk about it among friends and we know that it is not possible to look like that. You have to understand, maybe it’s more difficult for some, ”says Émilie Turgeon.

Charlotte Touze shares the same opinion. “I know the photos are changed. We even talk about it in class, in my history-geography-geopolitics class, we tackle the issue of disinformation on social networks, ”says the one who is in the first year of CEGEP.

A course is required

Learning is the key. The three specialists interviewed agree on this point.

“There should be a course in schools on how to navigate the web and social networks,” thinks Stéphanie Léonard. Young people must be prepared. They learn by trial and error, but we could better guide them. As a parent, we do it according to our knowledge, but it should be part of school learning. ”

Caroline Rouen-Mallet notices that many parents feel overwhelmed by technologies, social networks, and that they do not know how to frame the consumption of their children. “A parent is going to ask their child where they are physically going when they go out, but they are not going to ask them where they are going virtually. However, it must be guided. It is much more dangerous territory than television, because there can be very bad encounters there, she says. The prevention campaigns must also target parents so that they can better support their children in the virtual field. ”

“We can’t ban them and we can’t always track our teenagers. But you have to equip them, they have to understand how to make the right choices, and that is part of a real learning process, ”concludes Stéphanie Léonard.