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Facebook:Friendorfoe?

COVERSTORY

Facebook:Friendorfoe?
Childrenandteensoveruseofsocialmediaislinkedtolowergrades,poorhealthandsymptomsofpotential
mentalhealthproblems,newresearchshows.
ByJamieChamberlin
MonitorStaff
October2011,Vol42,No.9
Printversion:page66

Childrenwhoseparentsdon'taskthemabouttheironlineactivitiesanddon'tmonitortheiruseofFacebookareless
healthy,morenarcissistic,andperformworseatschoolthanchildrenwhoseparentsrestricttheirtechnologyuse,
LarryD.Rosen,PhD,professorofpsychologyatCaliforniaStateUniversity,DominguezHills,saidatAPA's2011
AnnualConvention(/convention/index.aspx).
InhisresearchonhowFacebookandothertechnologiesaffectthehealthandwellbeingoftoday'syouth,Rosenhas
foundthatstudentswhouseFacebookmorethroughoutthedayaremorepronetomentalhealthproblems,have
worsegradesandtendtobesickmoreoftenthanpeerswhousesocialmedialessfrequently.
"YoungkidslookattechnologythewayIlookatair,"saidRosen."It'snotjustatooltothem,theysleepwithit,they
wakeupwithit,andit'spartoftheirworld."
Inoneasyetunpublishedstudyheconductedthisyear,Rosenobservedthestudyhabitsof279middleschool,high
schoolanduniversitystudentsin15minuteblocks.Rosenrecordedhowlongeachstudentspentstudyingbeforehe
orshecheckedFacebookorpausedtosendatextmessagetoafriend.Studentswhoflippedbackandforthbetween
studyingandsuchdistractionshadworsegradesthanthosewhostucktotheirschoolworkuntiltheywerefinished,
saidRosen.
"WhethertheycheckedFacebookjustonetimeduringa15minuteobservationperiodevenpredictedworsegrades,"
saidRosen.
Inanotherstudy,conductedin2009,Rosensurveyed1,000parentsabouthowmuchtimetheirkidsspentonline,
theireatinghabits,exerciseroutine,overallphysicalandmentalhealthanduseofothertechnology,suchasvideo
gamingsystems.Rosenfoundthatevenwhenheaccountedfordemographics,eatinghabitsandlackofexercise,
mediaandtechnologystillhadapowerfuleffectonthechildren'shealth.
Thosewhousedmorehoursofmediaweremoreunhealthyacrosstheboard,fromelementaryschoolagethrough
highschool,saidRosen.Theyreportedmoresickdays,morestomachaches,moredepressionandworsebehavior
inschool."Younameit,[theyhad]moreofit,"hesaid.
Toseewhethersocialmediahadasimilareffectonmentalhealth,Rosenconductedafollowupstudythisyearto
lookatwhetherfrequentuse,especiallyofFacebook,couldpredictsignsandsymptomsofpersonalitydisorders
amongyoungusers.HispreliminaryfindingsshowthatfrequentFacebookuseamongteenscorrelatesonlywith
narcissism,butforyoungadults,itcorrelateswithsignsofmanydisorders,includingnarcissism,antisocial
personalitydisorder,bipolardisorderandborderlinepersonalitydisorder.
Despitesuchevidence,RosenafanofFacebookhimselfsaidhebelievesthattherearepositiveaspectstosocial
mediauseamongyouth.In2011,heandcolleaguesfoundthatyoungadultswhospendmoretimeonFacebook
thantheirpeersarealsobetteratshowing"virtualempathy"totheironlinefriendsandthatsuchonlineempathy
predictsrealworldempathy.
"Thereevenappears,statistically,tobeacausallinkthere,thattheyarepracticingittoputtherealworldempathyout
there,"saidRosen."Themoretimetheyspendinteracting,sharingandconnectingonline,themorerealworld
empathytheyhave."
ParentingstyleiswhatcanmakethedifferencebetweentoomuchFacebookandjusttherightamount,added
Rosen.Ina2008study,hefoundthatwhenparentsuseanauthoritativestyleestablishingfirmrulesaboutonline
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Facebook:Friendorfoe?

use,settingclearlimitsandtalkingaboutpossiblenegativeconsequencesinadvancetheirchildrentendtousethe
Internetinmoderationandhavemoreselfesteemandlessdepressionthanpeerswithparentswhoaren'tasrules
oriented.
"Wecan'tsimplyassumethatwecantrustwhat[ourchildren]aredoing,"hesaid."Wealsocan'tgotheotherwayand
attachsoftwaretotheircomputersthatmonitorstheirkeystrokes.Mostkidscouldfigurethatoutinfiveminutes."
Instead,parentsshouldassesstheirchild'sactivitiesonsocialnetworkingsites,anddiscussremovinginappropriate
contentorconnectionstopeoplewhoappearproblematic.Parentsalsoneedtopayattentiontotheonlinetrends
andthelatesttechnologies,websitesandapplicationschildrenareusing,hesaid.
"Youneedtotalktoyourkids,orrather,listentothem,"Rosensaid."Talkoneminuteandlistenforfive."

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