The long-term effects of social media has yet to be known, but experts have assembled some pros/cons the social media has posed to adolescents.
Social media has positive aspects:
- it can help people connect with others far away (virtual relationships);
- can act as a social support network;
- allows people to access communication and entertainment;
- it can also help adolescents connect in homework groups;
- it is also an avenue that can be used to help people interact and learn.
But, there are negative aspects as well:
- Can impact adolescents body image by seeing all the ‘perfect’ photos that people post of themselves;
- it can affect the mental health of teens, studies show the level of contentment goes down and levels of depression goes up;
- opens up the possibility of cyberbullying, which could lead to depression and anxiety;
- and it opens the children up to possibility of being victimized on-line by social predators.
Everday nine people die due to distracted driving.
Internet Safety Education - Online Resources
 | Culture Reframed Most kids are just a click away from free, hardcore porn. Culture Reframed deems porn “the public health crisis of the digital age.” |
| Suggested Readings from Culture Reframed |
 | Fight the New Drug Fight the New Drug is a website that educates on pornography’s harmful effects on individuals, relationships and society. |
 | Office of the eSafety Commissioner-Staying Safe Helping kids too tay safe online ohs something many parents are concerned about. Knowing about the basics of the online world can help parens be ahead of the game. |
 | What Teenagers Are Learning From Online Porn, The New York Times Magazine |
Social Media Education - Online Resources
 | Child Mind Institute How Using Social Media Affects Teenagers |
| New York Times The Secret Social Media Lives of Teenagers |
 | The American Academy of Pediatrics The Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents, and Families |
 | Mental Health Foundation Social Media and young people’s mental health |
 | Common sense media Parenting in the digital age |
Texting While Driving
 | dmv.org Learn what distracted driving is and how big of a problem is. |
 | Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Distracted Driving |
FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)
 | CNN Teen ‘Like’ and FOMO Anxiety |
 | BBC News How the Fear of Missing Out Drives Social Media Addiction |
 | PsychCentral FOMO Addiction |
 | Time.com How to Overcome FOMO |
Social Media and Addiction
 | Huffpost Teens Addicted to Social Media |
Best Practices on Social Media
 | Kids’ Safety Parents’ best practices for social media security |
| Common Sense Media Facebook, Instagram, and Social Parent Concern |
 | Greater Good Magazine/ UC Berkeley Five Tips for Helping Teens Manage Technology |
 | Smart Social 11 Safety Experts Share Teen Cell Phone Best Practices |
Books
 | American Girls: Social Media and the Secret Life of Teenagers by Nancy Jo Sales |
 | Wired Child: Reclaiming Childhood in a Digital Age by Richard Freed |
 | Disconnected: How to Reconnect our Digitally Distracted Kids by Thomas Kersting |
 | Glow Kids: How Screen Addiction is Hijacking our Kids..And How to Break The Trance by Nicholas Kardaras |
 | iGen: Why Today’s Super Connected Kids Are Grown Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood by Jean M. Twenge |
 | The Boogeyman Exists and He’s In Your Child’s Back Pocket by Jesse Weinberger |
 | Growing up Social: raising relational kids in a screen-driven world by Gary Chapman & Arlene Pellicane |