10 Tips to Protect Young People’s Well-Being Online

Key points:

In response to growing concerns about youth well-being and social media use, a new report from the Biden-Harris administration’s Kids Online Health and Safety Task Force offers recommendations and best practices for safer youth use of social media and online platforms.

About 95 percent of teenagers and 40 percent of children between the ages of eight and 12 use some form of social media. The use of digital technology can both benefit young people’s well-being and expose them to significant harm.

Social media use is associated with risks to physical and mental health, including exposure to bullying, online harassment and abuse, discrimination and child sexual exploitation. And adolescents who seek information online about health and safety topics are at risk of encountering misinformation that may be unhelpful or even dangerous.

The recommendations in the report, Online health and safety for children and young people: best practices for families and guidance for industry, highlight the government’s efforts to address the ongoing youth mental health crisis and support the President’s unity agenda for the country.

“Across the Biden-Harris Administration, we are committed to combating the youth mental health crisis in this country and ensuring Americans have the tools and support they need to thrive online,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “As kids spend more and more time online, this Administration is taking steps to protect their privacy and mental health. The recommendations in our report will chart a path toward an internet that works for everyone.”

The Biden-Harris administration’s Kids Online Health and Safety Task Force is jointly led by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s (DOC) National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

Task Force members also committed to future actions, including providing more resources for children, teens and families, guidance for pediatricians and conducting more research.

“President Biden has made addressing the mental health crisis among young people a top priority, and that’s why we’re taking steps to ensure the safety and well-being of young people as they use social media and online platforms,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “The Biden-Harris administration is taking a whole-of-government approach to protecting young people’s mental health, safety, and privacy online, but it will take more than just the government to get results.”

The report provides a summary of the risks and benefits of social media to youth health, safety, and privacy; best practices for parents and caregivers; recommended practices for industry; a research agenda; and proposed future work, including for the federal government. Youth advocates, community organizations, academic researchers, and other experts provided input into the Task Force’s recommendations.

“SAMHSA is focused on helping young people, their parents, caregivers and others protect their mental health when using social media and online platforms,” said Task Force Co-Chair Miriam E. Delphin-Rittmon, Ph.D., HHS Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use and SAMHSA’s leader. “We know that while there are some benefits to using this technology, such as building connections and supportive communities, there are also significant reasons for concern, and we want to minimize the potential harms as much as possible so young people can thrive.”

“As young people spend more of their lives online, it’s time to take action and do more to protect them,” said Task Force Co-Chair Alan Davidson, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and NTIA Administrator. “This Task Force report outlines practices and design choices that companies can implement today to prioritize children’s privacy, well-being, and ability to thrive online. Our report suggests changes that will help young people navigate safely and enjoy all the benefits the Internet has to offer, while minimizing the risks they face.”

Industry Recommendations

The task force identified 10 recommended practices for online service providers to implement to develop and operate their platforms with the well-being of young people in mind. Companies make design choices that shape children’s online experiences, and those choices can contribute to or mitigate harm. This report urges the industry to make design choices that prioritize the well-being of children. This includes guidance on how to:

Design age-appropriate experiences for young users
Make privacy protection for young people the standard
Reduce and remove features that encourage excessive or problematic use by young people
Limit ‘likes’ and social comparison features for young people by default
Develop and implement mechanisms and strategies to combat sexual exploitation and abuse of children
Disclose accurate and comprehensive security-related information about apps
Improve systems to address bias and discrimination that young people experience online
Use data-driven methods to detect and prevent cyberbullying and other forms of online harassment and abuse
Provide age-appropriate parental control tools that are easy to understand and use
Make data accessible for verified, qualified and independent research

Resources for Parents and Caregivers

The best practices and resources for parents and caregivers include an overarching framework, strategies for parents and caregivers, handouts and conversation starters to engage children in conversations about online platforms and technology use, and a compendium of resources for parents and caregivers. Many of these materials were developed in partnership with the SAMHSA-funded Center of Excellence on Social Media and Youth Mental Health, run by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

“The American Academy of Pediatrics supports the Kids Online Safety Task Force report released today and applauds SAMHSA and the Department of Commerce for addressing the impact of social media on youth mental health,” said Dr. Megan Moreno, co-medical director of the SAMHSA-funded AAP Center of Excellence on Social Media and Youth Mental Health. “To make the report’s recommendations accessible and actionable, we’ve released new resources for families and those who work with them, including conversation starters and activities to help parents and caregivers know what to say and how to build foundational skills. We’re pleased to be a strong partner in this work.”

“It is encouraging that our leaders are paying attention to the risks, uses and opportunities associated with internet access and social media. However, the role of parents and caregivers remains undiminished. In the past, we could teach our children to look both ways before crossing the street. Now, when it comes to the internet and social media, we must teach them to all ways, including ways we have never imagined,” said Dr. Suzanne Barchers, educational advisor at LingoKids.

“Adults should keep the conversation going about screen time at all times. Family meetings that establish parameters are crucial. But it’s not enough to have one conversation about online predators or scammers. Kids understand information at different levels at different times. Discussions need to be ongoing. Parents can also regularly check Common Sense Media, a site that rates and recommends all media content, from current movies and books to safe and educational apps,” Barchers added. “At the same time, they should watch for signs of depression, excessive phone or social media use, or changes in eating or sleeping habits. If the signs become troubling, it’s time to investigate further — and remind your kids that you are responsible for their health and safety while they live at home, no matter their age.”

In collaboration with the Kids Online Health and Safety Task Force, the AAP Center of Excellence on Social Media and Youth Mental Health is also launching a variety of new web-based content, including: recommended best practices by topic and/or audience; a series of age-based handouts for parents that pediatricians and other health care providers can distribute during assessment visits; new clinical cases for pediatricians and other clinicians that demonstrate how to integrate conversations about media use into health care encounters with teen patients; and expanded content specifically for teens.

Next steps

The report concludes with recommended next steps for policymakers, including:

Introducing bipartisan legislation at the federal level to protect the health, safety, and privacy of young people online
Promoting industry action to implement age-appropriate health, safety, and privacy best practices on online platforms through federal legislation and voluntary commitments
Working to mandate access to platform data for independent researchers in ways that protect privacy
Supporting research into the privacy, health and safety of young people online;
Promoting youth voices in solutions
Supporting access to new and updated resources tailored to young people, parents, caregivers, teachers and online platforms
Participate in international efforts to cooperate on online security

This press release originally appeared online.

Laura Ascione is Editorial Director at eSchool Media. She is a graduate of the prestigious Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland.