Social media has been the center of many of our lives since the day we were born. Some grew up watching “Dora the Explorer” or “The Wiggles”, while others had a camera in their face to help create “fun” family content. The COVID-19 pandemic added to this, bringing a new wave of users into social media platforms and further increasing screen time. But what are the effects of this social media use at such a young age and how does it affect us now?

For many children, family video blogging or ‘vlogging’ is their first encounter with social media. Their lives are constantly documented, often making them feel like they need to perform rather than just exist. This pressure has been linked to serious mental health issues in children, even at very young ages.

Exposure at a young age

“When children are constantly filmed for family vlogs, they often experience increased stress and anxiety from the pressure to maintain a certain image or behave in a certain way and perform for the camera. Many children begin to feel like they’re always “on stage,” which can be extremely overwhelming for their developing minds,” Licensed Professional Counselor and Clinical Director at Healing Pines Recovery Michael Anderson said in a Press Release from Healing Pines Recovery, an addi​​ction treatment center in Colorado.

As these children grow into their teenage years, that pressure can turn into frustration, resentment and rebellion. Being exposed online from a young age often creates unrealistic standards, and these feelings may become directed towards their parents, or internalized, affecting their sense of self and self-esteem. It also opens them up to bullying, both online and in real life.
“YouTube exposure comes with very real risks such as cyberbullying and online harassment,” Anderson said. “This can have a major impact on a child’s mental health, as comment sections can be brutal, and children often receive these negative messages in harmful ways.”

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A well-known example of this is the Franke family, a popular YouTube vlogging family. Their channel featured fun family content, but as their popularity grew, their eldest child, Shari Franke, began facing bullying both online and at school. In her memoir, “The House of My Mother,” she describes what it was like growing up with a camera in her face and how that experience has affected her mental health over time.

Teenage and young adult exposure

Yet it is not just child content creators who are affected by social media — so are the children and young adults who consume this kind of content. Overconsumption of social media has been linked to self-esteem issues, addiction, anxiety and exposure to bullying.

COVID-19 intensified this issue, as lockdowns forced people online to stay connected. While that connection was helpful during a health crisis, it also deepened the reliance on smartphones and social media.

According to UC Davis Health in their article, “Social media’s impact on our mental health and tips to use it safely,” in 2020, 44% of all internet users experienced online harassment, or cyberbullying. That number includes a large portion of children and young adults, who are especially vulnerable to these harmful experiences.
It is easy to overlook that number as it may seem small, but that is almost half of everyone online. This is a reflection for so many children and teens who are just trying to exist online without being targeted. And when talking about cyberbullying, it cannot be treated as an isolated issue that only affects a few people, as it has become part of the online experience.
A survey conducted by the Royal Society for Public Health asked 14–24-year-olds in the UK how social media has affected their mental health and many of them reported they felt an increased feeling of depression and loneliness, according to Child Mind Institute’s article, “How Using Social Media Affects Teenagers.”

The hidden weight

So many people use social media to feel connected, to stay in touch, to laugh at something dumb or watch someone’s family vlog. But underneath all that, there is a weight pulling people down, giving a sense of being alone while being constantly surrounded by content and people.

According to Child Mind Institute’s article, many children and teens today do not have the same communication skills as they would have if they did not have technology in their face perpetually.. When it comes to talking with each other, teens are used to talking on a phone, even while at school doing homework. College students are communicating through email to talk to their professors, some to avoid direct interactions to avoid the uncomfortable feelings of talking to others. Children and teens are not learning how to properly understand non-verbal cues or critical social skills because of the lack of need while they are communicating online.

Before smartphones and social media, kids could go home from school and be done with the social pressure faced at school. Now, the pressure follows them everywhere — in their pockets, in their bedrooms and in the middle of the night when they cannot sleep. They do not get a break and get to breathe without feeling the pressure to look like someone else, or just be someone else.
I remember during lockdown how much time I spent on TikTok every day. It was new and people were obsessed with getting TikTok famous, so it was fun at first. But eventually it started to feel like a loop where everyone looked perfect or were having fun while we were in the middle of a health crisis that prevented us from doing many fun things. Today, because of my past of using social media to waste time while being locked up, I now spend way too much time on my phone during small pastimes to avoid awkward small talk and end up doom scrolling where I just cannot seem to stop. This makes me feel unmotivated to do anything and hard to even start hobbies that I love to do.

Introducing possible solutions

Though this problem may seem too big to try and find a remedy to it, there are people fighting back. They are creating content that is real and are supporting better laws for child influences, where they are teaching digital boundaries.

Social media is not going anywhere anytime soon (although TikTok may get banned again), but that does not mean we have to accept all the negatives that come along with it. As more conversations around mental health emerge, we must include the voices of children and young adults who have been impacted by social media and are the least heard.

Whether it is family vlogging, cyberbullying or the silent pressures of always having to be perfect, we have to start treating these issues with the seriousness they deserve. To do so the first steps are educating parents and kids on the dangers of overconsumption of social media and creating a space for people to disconnect without feeling anxious that they are missing out. Because at the end of the day, likes and follows should not cost someone their sense of self.