Parenting was hard enough. Then came social media.
When social media platforms like Friendster, Myspace and Facebook debuted in the early 2000s, they ushered in a dazzling new era in which people could easily reconnect with long-lost classmates, share photos of their weddings and breakfasts alike and laugh together over the latest GIFs and memes.
Since then, we’ve discovered some unintended consequences, which range from more heated political arguments at the dinner table to cyberbullying, misinformation, data privacy issues and mental health concerns.
An entire generation of children has been born along the way. And parenting these digital natives comes with distinct hurdles.
“In addition to the traditional challenges of parenting … there are new stressors that previous generations didn’t have to consider,” then-U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy wrote in 2024. “These include the complexity of managing social media, parents’ concerns about the youth mental health crisis and an epidemic of loneliness that disproportionately affects young people and parents, just to name a few.”
Recent verdicts against Facebook and Instagram parent Meta and Google in California and New Mexico on harm to children from these platforms shined a light on social media addiction and raised questions about who, if anyone, is responsible for these ongoing ripple effects and how users can find balance in an always-on media ecosystem.
In separate statements, spokespeople for Google and Meta said they disagree with the verdicts and plan to appeal. TikTok and Snapchat did not respond to requests for comment on the California verdict. They agreed to settle that lawsuit before the trial began in January.
When asked whether Instagram would re-evaluate its policies for teens, a Meta spokesperson wrote, “We’ve spent many years making changes to protect teens and support parents, and that won’t change with these verdicts.”
The regulatory environment
In Georgia and around the country, lawmakers are struggling with how to protect minors when it comes to social media usage and who bears responsibility.
A Georgia law passed in 2024 requiring social media platforms to verify the age of account holders and restrict use by minors has been temporarily blocked while its constitutionality is challenged in court.
A bill was introduced during this year’s legislative session to instead require app stores to verify the age of users before downloading an app, but it prompted opposition and never made it to a vote.
A separate bill to ban smartphones for high school students starting in the 2027-28 school year was passed by the Georgia Legislature during the session and is awaiting Gov. Brian Kemp’s signature. It expands on legislation passed last year that will prohibit the use of personal electronic devices in public schools in grades K-8 starting July 1.
Experts agree there are no easy solutions for parents trying to navigate this complex terrain — and while broader change is needed, it’s unclear if or when that will ever happen.
“I do hope that these platforms will do more now — many outlets are calling it the Big Tobacco moment for Big Tech,” said Munmun De Choudhury, a professor at the School of Interactive Computing at Georgia Tech who focuses on personal and societal well-being from social digital footprints. However, “change isn’t going to be so easy if it is perceived to be chipping away at the bottom line (of social media companies).”
The pros and cons of social media
One of the main challenges for parents is social media is not inherently good or bad.
There are genuine benefits like connection, which can be particularly valuable for youths and marginalized people who find supportive communities online.
The American Academy of Pediatrics acknowledges this is a positive, along with upsides like self-expression, self-exploration and civic engagement.
At the same time, the AAP points to aforementioned risks like cyberbullying, along with body image concerns, harmful content, unwanted contact and sleep disruption.
These downsides are particularly acute for young users because of what’s going on in their brains.
A 2023 advisory from Murthy noted age 10 to 19 is a “highly sensitive period of brain development” and “frequent social media use may be associated with distinct changes … in the amygdala (important for emotional learning and behavior) and the prefrontal cortex (important for impulse control, emotional regulation, and moderating social behavior) and could increase sensitivity to social rewards and punishments.”
Libby Milkovich, a developmental and behavioral pediatrician at Children’s Mercy Hospital and ambassador for the AAP’s Center of Excellence on Social Media and Youth Mental Health, cited the impact of social media on executive functioning skills, like learning to work through boredom or practicing delayed gratification.
“It interferes with our ability to create healthy coping skills,” she said. “We go to our phone or to social media as (a means of) avoiding. And so that does not allow us to practice more beneficial types of coping when we’re distressed.”
At the extreme end of the spectrum, there are risks like deepfakes and revenge porn.
“Some of the research that I’ve done looks at … spreading false images, false text messages,” said Chad Posick, a professor of criminal justice and criminology at Georgia Southern University who focuses on youth behavior and risk. “Social media becomes the mechanism to get things out very quickly to a lot of people.”
What the platforms are doing — and where they fall short
Against this backdrop, social media companies like Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube — the most popular platforms among teen users — have rolled out features like teen accounts, privacy settings, time limits and parental controls, alongside advertising campaigns featuring the likes of Usher and Tom Brady.
Experts say these tools are a step in the right direction but noted they exist alongside features like notifications and auto scroll, which make it difficult for even adults to pull themselves away.
Milkovich likened these safety measures to putting up a sign telling kids to wear bike helmets: It’s a safeguard, but it doesn’t guarantee children will actually wear helmets.
Charnetta Colton-Poole, a Georgia pediatrician who specializes in working with adolescents and their families, added, “You can be a 16-year-old girl who is consuming lots of warped images of other women and comparing yourself, and there is no safeguard against that.”
According to De Choudhury, relying on safety measures can create a false sense of security for parents.
Other challenges include kids who know a lot more about the rapidly changing technology than their parents and lack of hard and fast guidance for rules regarding age, platforms or screen time. That’s in part because different kids have different needs.
While it may be tempting for parents to simply ban social media, there’s evidence that doesn’t work either. A December 2025 report from the Brookings Institution found bans aren’t likely to be effective because they are difficult to enforce, may not actually reduce screen time and prevent teens from developing digital literacy skills.
Parental control tools like Apple Screen Time, Google Family Link and Qustodio, along with kid-specific devices from companies like Bark, Gabb and Pinwheel, can be helpful, but experts say they should be part of a broader strategy — not a solution on their own.
“You should do as much as you can to protect your kids when it comes to social media,” Colton-Poole said.
No more doomscrolling, Mom
Experts say parents should create an environment where open, honest conversations feel normal — including discussions about the benefits and risks of social media.
“Just be really open and honest about your own battles with technology use because I think it lets kids understand how difficult it is, and it isn’t that you’re just being mean to put on restrictions,” Milkovich said.
She recommends device-free meal times as one way to communicate and model healthier behavior.
“It’s really hard to say, ‘Hey — stop playing video games,’ while Mom is on social media doomscrolling,” she added.
Digital driver’s ed
Once those lines of communication are established, experts say the next step is setting clear boundaries.
And, according to Colton-Poole, you may be surprised by how your kids respond to restrictions on social media.
“They love a boundary, as much as they hate to say it,” she said. “They often act like they know it, but they really want to hear what to post, what not to post, how not to respond. You have to teach them these things.”
Colton-Poole recommends detailing rules and expectations upfront — even in a written contract. And maybe even starting with a more limited device like a smartwatch.
Another good place to start is a program like Digital Driver’s Ed from the nonprofit Screen Sanity, which applies the analogy of learning to drive to approaching digital media.
“I really like that because when you turn 16, it’s not like we say, ‘Here are your keys. See you later,’” Milkovich said. “No, you’ve spent 14 years watching your parents drive and seeing their habits and learning how to get places, but then the child has to practice. It’s a new skill that you’re teaching them.”
‘You have to be on TikTok’
But setting rules is only part of the equation — parents also need to understand the platforms themselves.
“You have to be on TikTok,” Colton-Poole said.
She recommends periodically checking what content is being served to your child — and talking about it.
“We have to be nosy … not invading their privacy, but saying, ‘What are the things that TikTok is giving you because that is what you’re showing interest in’ and having conversations about that,” she added.
Colton-Poole also suggests following your kids on social media and talking to them about what they post, which she does with her own children.
“I will ask them, ‘What does this mean?’ and we will have a conversation about it,” Colton-Poole said. “This is the way they communicate now … so I use it as a tool to communicate with them as well.”
Tackling digital rebellion
Even with these safeguards in place, teens will inevitably test boundaries.
If that happens, experts say the best move is to go back to communication.
“Open it with curiosity, like, ‘Hey, can you tell me a little bit about what you’re thinking?’ as opposed to a lot of blame and shame,” Milkovich said. “If you do a lot of, ‘I can’t believe you did that. That’s so wrong,’ they’re never going to show you anything ever.”
Other parents who have navigated similar territory — along with groups like Protect Young Eyes — can also help figure out how to surmount whatever social media hurdles you’re facing.
“It’s tough,” Colton-Poole said. “It’s constantly evolving. They’re coming out with different features and all kinds of things, so it is a never-ending process.”
