With the advent of social networks and the spread of various information on the Internet, including misinformation, the number of young people, children, and teenagers who hang out with their friends face-to-face every day has decreased. If in the 90s every other teenager met their friends every day, today that number has reduced to barely 20 percent.

On the other hand, the latest research shows that teenage girls are twice as likely to have symptoms of depression related to the use of social networks than boys, primarily due to the truthfulness of the content read and seen on social networks, sleep disorders, dissatisfaction with ones own body and a drop in self-esteem.

In the study, which analyzed data from almost 11,000 young people in the UK, researchers found that 14-year-old girls are more frequent social media users, with two-fifths using social media for more than three hours a day, while one-fifth of boys do the same.

The study found that 12 percent of moderate users of social networks and 38 percent of those who spend more time on social networks (more than five hours a day) show signs of severe depression. Regarding processes that may be related to social media use and depression, the researchers found that 40 percent of girls and 25 percent of boys experienced cyberbullying. Sleep disorders occur in 40 percent of girls; in boys, that percentage is 28 percent. Anxiety and poor sleep are associated with depression.

Girls are also at greater risk regarding the association between social media use, body image, and self-esteem concerns. Still, the difference between girls and boys is more minor.

Yvonne Kelly, a professor at the London Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care, is one of the studys authors, called on parents and politicians to pay attention to the studys results. She adds that families should also consider limiting cell phone use in teens rooms and when and where its okay to spend time on social networks.

Time with the media then and now

A study (by the Kaiser Family Foundation) published in 2010 showed that even then, children aged 8 to 18 spent an average of 7 hours and 38 minutes per day consuming media content. However, this number is much higher if you consider that children often use multiple media simultaneously (e.g., while playing video games and listening to music on the radio). Today, teenagers devote up to 9 hours a day to the media. Therefore, it is unsurprising that as many as 66 percent of parents believe their children spend too much time in front of screens, and 59 percent think their children are addicted to mobile devices.

While YouTube is still the app kids spend the most time on, Tik Tok is getting dangerously close. According to the latest research published in 2020, children spend an average of 85 minutes daily on YouTube and 80 minutes on Tik Tok.

This social network Tik Tok, which is the most visited by young people in the world public on this topic, is often mentioned as one of the primary sources through which disinformation and fake news related to the war in Ukraine are spread. In a year and a half, while the battles are raging, the publication of brutal videos and pictures that direct the "reality" in Ukraine, depending on which warring parties publish them, does not stop.

In September 2021, the companys owners informed us that the social networks global monthly audience was 1 billion users. Since then, it has grown by an average of 41 million new users monthly. All this means that over a billion people who use this network worldwide are exposed to the risk of misinformation every day.

Scandals of Companies that manage social networks

In light of current events related to disinformation and fake news, it is essential to note that almost all social networks have been linked to some user-related scandal. So Tik Tok, then known as Musical, went to court for illegally collecting information on children under 13 and agreed to pay a $5.7 million fine for violating COPPA rules.

Facebook faced a problem when live footage of the mass killing of 49 people in New Zealand was released. Facebook points out that they found out about posting the video online only after the police informed them about it. The video was immediately taken down, but it was still long enough for people to see it, download it, and continue sharing it on other social networks. This is where the problem of recognizing inappropriate content published on social networks arises.

Fake news is a real problem, even for the youngest

Using (new) media only stops when young people and children are asleep. Before the pandemic, the young population was involved in face-to-face interaction, at least during classes, and that part has also been transferred to the virtual world. Social networks are no longer an alternative way but have become one of the primary forms of socialization for children and young people. The increased time children spend with the media opens up the possibility of exposure to more risky content. Children can face a long list of dangers with the excessive use of media and inappropriate Internet content. From exposure to misinformation to impersonation, pedophilia, peer violence, hacking, and identity theft are problems that will not disappear over time but can only escalate. 

Almost all experts who dealt with mass medias influence on children emphasized parents critical role. Parents should have the function of media educators who will familiarize young people and children with all the positive and negative aspects of social media from an early age. However, parents often need more knowledge and information about new media and point out that their children are more experts than them. The responsibility is often shifted to educational institutions; teachers point out that they must be educated enough to educate children about the media. Everyone can wait with folded hands for someone else to do or take action or try to do everything in their power to help children cope in the best way possible with the challenges they face every day.

Childrens mental health is a challenge for families

Dr. Petra Temelkova, a specialist in psychiatry, in a statement for Sloboden Pe?at on the subject, says that peoples health is impaired, especially among young people, because the focus of everyones attention is information related to posts on social networks, which are primarily full of untruths.

- Globally, people cannot judge what is true and what is not. Therefore, it is logical that they fall for fake news and are worried because they emotionally follow it with much hope and uncertainty. At the same time, the overabundance of false information about wars in Europe, incidents of peer violence in the region, and the economic crisis only further contribute to the creation of mistrust towards everything people read in the media and social networks. - she points out.

^{AUTHOR: Dejan Srbinovski}

^{North Macedonian Media Partner Link: https://www.slobodenpecat.mk/dezinformaciite-gi-otugjuvaat-mladite-i-decata-od-realnosta/}