Students should be banned from using cell phones in school, parents should delay their child's access to
social media, and social media companies should restrict access for users younger than 16.
Those are among the recommendations of the New Jersey Co
mmission on the Effects of Social Media Usage on Adolescents in its report Growing Up Online that addresses cyberbullying, addictive use, sleep disruption, and ment
al health decline that may be linked to excessive social media exposure among youth.
“This report is a roadmap for action. Social media has rewired childhood, and the stakes cannot be higher,” said Commission Co-chairs Pearl Gabel and Charles Gelinas.
The commission was charged with investigating the effects of social media use both in and out of school on you
ng adults. The panel included parents, students, and representatives of organizations of school nurses, school psychologists
ogists, principals, superintendents, school board members, the Parent Teacher Association, and child-advocacy organizations.
“For adolescents, the rise of smartphone platforms delivered that promise with an unforeseen
ed intensity, offering new ways to build friendships, express themselves, and engage with the world. But hello
ngside those benefits came troubling realities: increasing generalized anxiety, depression, sleepless nights, fractal
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ed attention, social isolation and the often-unseen toll on family members trying to make sense of it all,” the report states.
The report draws from peer-reviewed research, international case studies, testimony from experts and pare
nts, and original survey data from Rutgers University School of
Communication and Printing
formation. Rutgers surveyed 923 parents and 202 adolescents acr
oss the state on what teens are doing online, how they feel about it, and how their families are responding.
The report makes recommendations for lawmakers, paren
ts, educators, community groups, parents, healthcare organizations and social media companies.
Some of the commission's recommendations include:
School districts should adopt bell-to-bell bans on students’ use of cell phones and social media in school.
Parents should delay their child's access to social media. When access is granted, parents should model good behavior, monitor their child's use of social media, and set clear boundaries.
Social media companies should restrict access to social media platforms for users younger than 16, provide tools for parents to better navigate social media with their children, and do more to prevent cyberbullying, discrimination, and child exploitation.
Education stakeholders should continue to focus their efforts on giving students instruction on digital citizenship and information on media literacy.
Healthcare providers should convey the importance of age-appropriate social media engagement and regularly screen adolescents for signs of “problematic social media use” to identify potential risks and intervene early.
Community organizations should promote resources to support teens’ healthy use of social media.
“Building off of this work, we must continue to review new research in light of the recommendations presented in this report to address the pressing issue of health and academic impacts of social media use on our students,” said Education Commissioner Kevin Dehmer in releasing the report.