‘It’s Not All Bad, And It’s Not All Good’: Five Social Media Takeaways with Dr. Mitch Prinstein
By Dylan Howlett
6-minute read
“None of us should be here right now,” Dr. Mitch Prinstein says, and more than a few Durham Academy Upper Schoolers exchange puzzled looks. The students are, in fact, meant to be here, in Kenan Auditorium, as part of their Community Day programming. Prinstein — the chief science officer at the American Psychological Association and co-director of UNC-Chapel Hill’s Winston National Center on Technology Use, Brain and Psychological Development — is here to share his expertise in the effects of social media usage on the mental health and behaviors of teenagers. But he begins with a more primitive tale. “Our species should have gone extinct a long time ago,” he says.
It was 60,000 years ago, Prinstein says, when homo sapiens represented the most physically inferior and poorly adapted of Earth’s early human-like ancestors. They were almost certainly destined to die out. But a small genetic mutation in the vocal box of homo sapiens gave human beings the very beginnings of language — and a most essential means of survival. The earliest humans could warn each other of approaching predators, or share food and simple tools, or collaborate in raising their young. Social connection, then, was the adaptation that separated homo sapiens from other comparable human-like species. It also meant, in a time of wooly mammoths and saber-toothed tigers, that acceptance from the group was a matter of life and death. Literally. “The minute you got rejected,” Prinstein tells the Upper Schoolers, “you might be in mortal danger.” So it was that our earliest ancestors developed an acute sensitivity to peer approval.
The social media age has deepened that sensitivity to a degree that Prinstein and his colleagues have sought to quantify. In a daylong visit to Durham Academy on Wednesday, Jan. 15, Prinstein shared his most salient findings and insightful tips at three separate events: a Community Day assembly with Upper Schoolers, a professional development session with Upper School faculty and a presentation to more than 110 parents and caregivers as part of DA’s Family Matters Speaker Series. He told each of his audiences that the data alone informs and directs his research, which revolves around one guiding question: Under which conditions, and for which children, may specific social media features or content be helpful or harmful to youth development? Prinstein tells Upper Schoolers that he pushes for as much specificity as possible in his research to avoid any sweeping tropes about social media. “It’s not all bad,” Prinstein says. “And it’s not all good.”
Where is the good, the bad and the in-between, exactly? And what do students, parents and caregivers need to know? Here are five key takeaways from Prinstein’s visit to Durham Academy.
The Good: Belonging, Companionship and Engagement
As Prinstein’s guiding research question assumes, there are specific features of social media that may benefit children and teenagers. Social media platforms offer space for affinity and identity-based communities, the members of which can find immediate social support if they’re feeling overwhelmed by real-life experiences. Online-only friends have been found to buffer the effects of stressors and suicidal behavior, and social media provided social companionship for scores of teens during the COVID-19 lockdown. Social media platforms can also supercharge civic engagement and activism among young people, namely within the climate justice and gun control movements.
The Bad: Digital Stress
Digital media is a stressor in and of itself, Prinstein says. Smartphones and apps bombard users with connection overload: unread texts, Instagram and Snapchat notifications, the latest email from a teacher. “FOMO,” or “Fear of Missing Out,” afflicts users who see a group photo from a party or social function to which they weren’t invited. A family vacation or the absence of reliable WiFi can cause “availability stress,” whereby avid users fret over being able to sustain a particular Snapchat streak or instantaneously “like” the latest post from their friend.
It all culminates, to some degree, with “approval anxiety” — worrying, to an often unhealthy degree, about the performance of a post. Prinstein shared with Upper Schoolers and DA families that some college students have told him they’ll spend 30 minutes repeatedly refreshing their feed after posting to social media to see how many “likes,” comments and related interactions it receives. It’s not surprising then, that 45% of North Carolina high school students say digital stress disrupts their daily routine — and the same students reported higher levels of depression one year later.
The Sleepless: Social Media and Sleep Hygiene
Prinstein’s remarks to Upper Schoolers were far more empathetic than judgmental. He shared with students that 95% of adolescents report spending more time on social media than they intended. That is, in the eyes of billion-dollar technology corporations, by design. A study found the average North Carolina high school student picks up their phone 100 times per day and spends at least eight hours on their smartphone every day. They’re not asking for more content: It’s being foisted upon them by algorithms meant to ensnare them for hours within an app. “This isn’t your fault,” Prinstein says. “You’re responding exactly the way the program was designed.” And it actively interferes with their sleep.
The No. 1 predictor of problems associated with adolescent sleep, Prinstein says, is social media usage. About 60% of adolescents report viewing or interacting with screens either shortly before or during their bedtime routine. The onslaught of blue light from phones invariably leads to a trio of less than desirable outcomes: falling asleep later, remaining asleep for shorter periods of time and waking up more frequently during the night. Less than a quarter of 12th graders get their recommended eight to nine hours of sleep, Prinstein says, and the effects are profound: Research has linked insufficient sleep to higher levels of depression, anxiety and obesity, as well as poor academic performance.
The Brain: Technology-Driven Changes at a Critical Juncture
Prinstein tells Upper Schoolers there are two singular moments for the development of the human brain. The first arrives during the first year of life. The second stretches from 10 years old to 25 years old, or the length of time that it takes for the brain’s prefrontal cortex to mature. Prinstein refers to this part of the brain as the “brakes,” or the internal mechanism that prevents anyone from acting upon every impulse. And it appears that social media usage disrupts this seminal development. Students who frequently picked up their phone in sixth grade were highly sensitive to peer feedback by the time they reached ninth grade. Brain scans of the same students revealed an even more troubling trend: underperforming prefrontal cortices, and a far greater likelihood to blow past the brain’s brakes in everyday decision-making.
So … What Can You Do About It?
Plenty, as it turns out. Prinstein offered specific advice to each of the DA constituencies — students, faculty and families — with whom he spoke on Jan. 15.
- Students | Create A Plan, And Put Away Your Phone At Night: Prinstein suggests opening your phone with clear intentions. For instance: I’m going to take 15 minutes to respond to my unread emails and texts, check the latest headlines and scroll through my favorite app for a few minutes. It’s the most surefire way, Prinstein says, to avoid mindlessly scrolling for much longer than anticipated — and to ward off any overuse that could tamper with essential brain development. And the easiest way to fall and stay asleep? Put your phone away at 10 p.m.
- Faculty | Ban Phones from the Classroom, But Not Everywhere: Some available research confirms what teachers have long suspected, along with a twist: Students who view non-instructional content on a screen during instructional time earn lower grades, as does the student seated directly behind them. “There seems to be kind of a secondhand surfing effect,” Prinstein says. Students and their developing brains invariably struggle with task-shifting, Prinstein says, so the focus should exclusively remain on instruction in the classroom.
But there could be benefits, Prinstein says, for allowing students to use phones during non-instructional times, such as transitions between classes. A student grappling with an interpersonal conflict, for instance, could check in with a valued online friend or community for a reassuring touchpoint if they’re having a difficult day, or a student struggling with anxiety could play a quick game or view a comforting piece of content to recenter themselves before heading into their next class. Prinstein’s guidance aligns with the current Upper School model adopted this fall, in which classrooms and official meeting spaces are designated as “no phone zones” for the duration of the academic day.
- Families | Learn from Your Kids: As the father of two teenage children, Prinstein says he understands the challenges of raising kids in an age of unfettered social media. “This is hard, and this is new, and this is complicated,” Prinstein tells parents and caregivers from all divisions at his family presentation in Horton Hall. He advises parents to spend less time lamenting the simplicity of yesteryear and the complexities of modern lingo — and more time learning from their teenage children. “Talk with them,” Prinstein says, “about what they’re seeing.” What’s an Instagram reel? How do you sustain a streak on Snapchat? Why did your friend reply with one “fire” emoji but not two or three? This genuine expression of curiosity establishes a parent or caregiver as a safe space to which a child can turn if, say, they witness a more sinister or inappropriate digital interaction. It’s important to remember, Prinstein says, that not all screen time is created equal: Scrolling Instagram comments and immersing oneself in the digital ecosystem of peer approval is far more harmful, say, than watching a YouTube video about physics.
But the same gentle questioning around the ins and outs of social media platforms can help raise a more cognizant user, and child: Did you spend more time on your phone than you wanted or expected? How did you feel afterward? Better? Worse? The same? Our voice saved our species 60,000 years ago. It can save us again, Prinstein says, from the worst effects of social media at the most important time of your child’s development.
Learn more about Dr. Mitch Prinstein’s ongoing research at teensandtech.org.