Social media presents

'profound risk of harm' for kids, surgeon

general says, calling attention to lack of research

By Meg Tirrell, CNN Updated 3:01 PM EDT, Wed May 24, 2023 Source: CNN

There's not enough evidence to determine whether social media is safe enough for children and adolescents when it comes to their mental health, according to a new advisory from the US surgeon general.

"We' re in the middle of a youth mental health crisis, and I'm concerned that social media is contributing to the harm that kids are experiencing," Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy told CNN.

The report cites several ways in which social media may cause harm to youth mental health, noting that the adolescent years are a particularly vulnerable time for brain development. It details studies that found correlations between social media use and depression and anxiety, as well as poor sleep, online harassment and low self-esteem, particularly for girls.

One study of 6,595 US adolescents between ages 12 and 15

found that those who spent more than three hours a day on social media had twice the risk of symptoms of depression and anxiety as non-users, the report notes. It also cites studies that found reducing social media use led to improvements in mental health.

Social media use presents a risk of exposure to dangerous content, including depictions of self-harm, "which can normalize such behaviors," the advisory says. It also cites 20 studies that found a significant relationship between social media use body image concerns and eating disorders.

Murthy told CNN that the three most common things he hears from kids about social media are,

"number one, it makes them

feel worse about themselves; number two, it makes them feel worse about their friendships; but number three, they can't get off of it."

1. 上文擷取自 CNN報導，請說明大意與想法。（簡要帶過即可，重點在第二題）
2. 請說明自身使用社群媒體的經驗。（強調【趣味性】）
   1. 觀看同學近況、八卦
   2. 觀看NBA
   3. 與同學聊天並透過社群媒體討論課業、報告甚至班際比賽的戰術
   4. 看烹飪與兔子的分享
   5. 總結： 社群媒體大多數時間為我的生活帶來許多歡樂，也讓我在上面探索自身有興趣的事物並加深我跟同薛、朋友間的羈絆，有時，他也充當我釋放壓力的媒介，透過社群媒體，我可以向朋友傾訴心事，也可以觀看一些讓我較感興趣的事物以此放鬆身心。然而，前陣子我也曾經有過沉迷於其中的經驗，那段日子，我花費的許多時間在社群媒體之上，那不但讓我容易注意力不集中，也間接造成我學也表現的下滑，在意識到問題的嚴重性後，我藉由一些應用程式限制我使用社群媒體的時間，從結果而言，這個方式讓我的生活回到以往的樣貌，也讓我更集中在課業之中，現在，若我有一些重大考試或者我需要集中注意力時，我也會限制自己使用社群媒體的時間以此好好利用時間、保持專注。