Question: What is the impact of limiting the amount of time teens spend on social media? How can I successfully approach setting limits with my child?

 

Answer: Anything that is pleasurable - like sweets, video games, or social media - can be hard for children to resist. Kids differ in how pleasure-driven or reward-driven they are, so it’s normal that some kids will be able to set easy boundaries around their screen use while others will be more likely to overindulge or argue about access to their favorite activities. Parents may want to react to this pleasure-seeking behavior by wanting to ban it all – no social media, no video games. It is important to keep in mind that there are features of social media specifically designed to keep users' attention, and that adolescence is an important time of building skills and confidence with managing one’s own interests and time. Too much restriction can limit abilities to build strength in these areas.

With that said, social media platforms are beginning to respond to parents’ concerns over how much time adolescents are spending on apps by allowing users to set time limits, some limiting use for those under 18 to one hour per day. But what happens when individuals limit social media use? Do limits work? What about if parents are the ones setting the limits? 

Research on Time Limits 

There's not much research on whether time limits work, but some early evidence gives us hints. In one study, college students were put into one of three groups:  

  1. Control group – Could use social media as they normally do. 
  2. Limited use group – Could use social media for only 30 minutes a day. 
  3. Limited but active use group – Could use social media for only 30-minutes a day but had to do something active on social media every 3 minutes (like posting or commenting). 

Results showed that: 

  • The limited use group with a 30-minute time limit had less depression symptoms than the control group. However, students in the limited use group who described themselves as highly active on social media reported more loneliness, anxiety, and lower self-esteem. This suggests that for those who do not post or comment as often or use social media to browse - limiting their use might reduce feelings of sadness. However, setting a limit might be harmful for those who are naturally active on social media. 
  • Students who naturally were more passive on social media and were in the limited but active group also showed lower well-being. Forcing less-active people to use social media in more active ways also doesn't seem to help and may actually increase negative symptoms.  

Another set of experiments (not published yet) looked at setting limits on TikTok, Pinterest, and an online game. Over multiple experiments with adults, the results repeatedly showed that setting a limit didn't reduce time spent. In fact, setting a limit might even lead people use media for a longer period of time - unless very short/strict limits were enforced. Interestingly, even if those in the experiment were able to get paid to do something else instead, it didn't change this trend. Longer time limits made people use media more than those without any limits. This study finding means that apps that let you set your own time limits might encourage you to use them longer than you planned, especially if the limit is longer than you might naturally have used the platform.  

Research on Parenting 

Research shows that parental rules, like limiting time and content, can reduce a child’s media use. But simply restricting social media use doesn't prevent problematic internet use, which is using social media impulsively or in risky ways. Discussing and watching media with your child can have a bigger impact than just setting rules. You can teach your child how to protect themself from media risks like cyberbullying and troubling content. Families who approach social media in a way that supports building youth independence lower their risk for problematic use, depression, and anxiety. Teens who discuss social media with parents are also better able to approach or cope with cyberbullying. 

Developmental Considerations 

Limiting social media for teens is a really important topic area, and there is often a lot of discussion about whether or not to use limits. However, the real heart of the issue is not whether but how this is done. Adolescence is an important time of building skills and confidence with managing their own interests and time, and too much restriction can limit their abilities to build strength in these areas.  

A critical approach in limiting screen time for adolescents is to co-create a plan. This plan should include specific guidelines for time spent on social media, and it should also include content and context.  

For content, a teen social media user should ask themselves: What kind of content is engaging and enjoyable for me? That should be the focus of their time spent on social media. Some studies have found that more active use of social media, such as creating content or communicating with friends, leads to better experiences. But it is important for a teen to determine what content they enjoy and focus their time on that. 

Another aspect of social media time is context, or when that time on social media takes place. Is that time at the expense of other activities, such as being with friends in person or doing another important activity? Or is that social media time a chance for a down-time after school before heading to soccer practice? It is important to decide when and where that social media time will take place. 

Including aspects beyond screen time can help a teen avoid both overuse of social media, as well as the ‘don’t press the red button’ type of reflexive use. Our goal is for teens to feel confident in managing their time, and managing their social media time is part of that. 

Parents’ Own Use 

While this question focuses on setting up limits for a teen, we also recommend that parent technology use be a part of the discussion. As with so many other behaviors, parents serve as role models for when and how social media should be used at home. Placing limits on a teen’s social media use at dinnertime, while a parent checks their own profiles, is not a helpful approach. Parents have the opportunity to include their own use as part of the discussion about time, content, and context. Parents and teens should discuss and identify occasions (e.g. mealtimes, during car rides, while watching movies together) when it is important for them to avoid missing out on family time by being distracted by social media.  

What You Can Do 

While it is up to each family to determine what types of limits work best for them, we have some advice. As you discuss any limits with your children, try to avoid shaming or blaming your child. “You’re addicted! I’m taking this away!” or “You can’t control yourself, so you can’t have it” are examples of shaming or blaming your child for this behavior. If you shame or blame them and take the media away, it may backfire. The child may want it more because they don’t understand your reasons for wanting to limit the media. We’ve heard from children and teens that they end up sneaking media, opening social media accounts that they hide from their parents, and being less open with their parents about their online experiences.  

Instead, here are some tips and examples of conversation starters to help set limits that are more likely to be followed. Whenever a limit is being set, we recommend that parents: 

  1. Explain the reason for the limit. “I feel like we sometimes waste too much time scrolling on social media. I miss going for walks with the dog together. What do you think?” 
  2. Understand why your child is so drawn to media. “Are there times when you want to cut back on social media use? What are the negatives? What are the positives? Have you tried to cut back before? What has that experience been like for you?” 
  3. Make a shared plan. When possible, give your child a “say” in how the limits are set, including alternative activities that help fulfill your child’s interests. Be sure to include your own social media use as a part of the discussion around time, content, and context. “So, it sounds like we both want to do less aimless scrolling at the end of the day, and walking the dog would be another good way to relieve stress.”  

For more information on setting limits and screen time guidelines, please see these previous responses: 

Recommended Resources 

For Families 

Families can work together to create a Family Media Plan to facilitate agreements around technology use. Creating tech agreements together can increase buy-in from your child(ren). 

To Share with Your Tween or Teen 

References 

  • Beyens, I., Keijsers, L., & Coyne, S. M. (2022). Social media, parenting, and well-being. Current Opinion in Psychology, 47, 101350. 
  • Chen, L., & Shi, J. (2019). Reducing harm from media: A meta-analysis of parental mediation. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 96(1), 173-193. 
  • Collier, K. M., Coyne, S. M., Rasmussen, E. E., Hawkins, A. J., Padilla-Walker, L. M., Erickson, S. E., & Memmott-Elison, M. K. (2016). Does parental mediation of media influence child outcomes? A meta-analysis on media time, aggression, substance use, and sexual behavior. Developmental psychology, 52(5), 798. 
  • Ernala, S. K., Burke, M., Leavitt, A., & Ellison, N. B. (2022, April). Mindsets matter: How beliefs about Facebook moderate the association between time spent and well-being. In Proceedings of the 2022 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 1-13). 
  • Hamilton, J. L., & Lee, W. (2021). Associations between social media, bedtime technology use rules, and daytime sleepiness among adolescents: cross-sectional findings from a nationally representative sample. JMIR mental health, 8(9), e26273. 
  • Hunt, M., All, K., Burns, B., & Li, K. (2021). Too much of a good thing: Who we follow, what we do, and how much time we spend on social media affects well-being. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 40(1), 46-68. DOI: 10.1521/jscp.2021.40.1.46 
  • Lukavská, K., Hrabec, O., Lukavský, J., Demetrovics, Z., & Király, O. (2022). The associations of adolescent problematic internet use with parenting: A meta-analysis. Addictive Behaviors, 107423. 
  • Silverman, Jackie and Srna, Shalena and Etkin, Jordan, Does Setting a Time Limit Affect Time Spent? (March 7, 2023). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4381779 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4381779 

 

 

 

Age: 10-17  

Topics: Limits, parental restriction, self-tracking, self-control 

Role: Parent/Caregiver 

Last Updated

02/13/2024

Source

American Academy of Pediatrics