Social media gives them the platform to sort out those issues, has become a space in which they build and maintain relationships, express themselves, forge self-identity and learn about the world around them. Unicef statistics show that 71% of the youngsters from 15 to 23 are online most of the time. Children and teenagers under 18, represent 1 of 3 online users in the world. However, sometimes, it can more of a problem than a solution.

Jean M. Twenge, a psychology professor at the University of San Diego, has studied the evolution of teenagers for over 25 years. She claims she has never seen what is happening today: Now, adolescents spend fewer hours sleeping, have less social encounters, don´t speak with their families, feel more lonely and the symptoms of depression have increased. According to her research, everything can be related to the internet and social media usage. In 2015, a study by the University of California and the University of Texas, reported by CNN, revealed that in over 200 teenagers of 13 years old, the line between reality and the virtual world wasn´t very clear. The pressure of assuming a certain virtual role, the desire to belong, the need to be connected, can cross over the real world, affecting personal relationships, school performance, even their own health. Another study conducted by the University of San Francisco, published in NeuroRegulation Magazine, showed that the more time people spend on their phones surfing the web and on social media, the higher are the chances of feeling isolation, loneliness, and anxiety. Most of the subjects expressed feeling depressed. Researchers Richard Harvey and Erik Pepper indicate that loneliness comes from having less and less face to face interactions. Stress and anxiety may occur because of the need to answer or check our phones almost constantly. It´s been documented that vibrations, ring tones, and notifications, use the same neurological pathways as the ones the brain uses to alert us of danger and possible attacks.

The reality is that the internet and social media usage is increasing day by day. It´s been reported that the average kid spends nearly 45 hours a week online while dedicating 30 to school and 17 to their families. In Argentina alone, 4 of 10 are 24 hours a day online; 5 of 10 are connected before they go to bed, and only 1 out of 10 uses the internet less than 3 hours a day. In this matter, studies indicate that excessive use of the internet and social media can result in a negative health outcome. Some of the symptoms could be: deprive themselves of sleep in order to stay online; neglection and disinterest of other endeavors, such interactions with their families and social activities; irritability around online difficulties; carelessness of their own health; lack of notion of the time spent online; anxiety and social isolation and significant drop in school performance. If these are extrapolated to mental health, most of them are correlated to depression. To further this point, it´s been acknowledged that it takes only two hours a day of social media usage for children and teenagers to be at risk of developing symptoms of anxiety and depression.

What can we do about these concerns? A study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania showed that limiting social media usage to 30 minutes a day can make major improvements in mental health and wellbeing. Researchers found that, only after three weeks of reducing the time spent on social networks, the signs of loneliness, anxiety, and depression decreased significantly. Therefore, establishing a reasonable amount of time to use social media and addressing the dangers and implications of that use, can be of great benefit for any teenager. But not only that, encouraging social and sports activities, generating more family interactions; promoting hobbies and pastimes occupations, are proven to be most helpful. Also, offering safe spaces of communication where they can talk about their feeling, fears, and joys can be vital in the developing of a young human being. These are little thing that can be done. But they could have an enormous impact on every adolescent everywhere.

Lic. Damián A. Larrimbe.

Psychologist; M.N. 58190; Logotherapist.

*Clinical Therapist.

*Professor at Kennedy University.

*Member of the Cognitive Neurorehabilitation Program "Our Lady of Guadalupe" Rehabilitation Center

*Former External School Assistant for disabled children.

*Former teacher and therapist at "Argentine Logotherapy Foundation".

*Guest Lecturer at XXIII and XXIV Argentine Congress of Logotherapy.