Handling Social Media: Time & Place (Before Bedtime & NOT in Your Teen’s Bedroom)

Sure, your teen wants to stay connected to friends and peers using social media. That’s a given. However, research tells us that using social media after bedtime and in your teen’s bedroom is neither the right time nor place. In fact, these are just plain lousy for your kid’s well-being.

Research has found that some unhealthy things happen when teens take their technology devices to bed with them. Primarily, they get less sleep. Teens are already notorious for being sleep-deprived, and the bedroom tech has only worsened the situation.

“One of the biggest culprits for inadequate and disturbed sleep is technology,’ said psychologist Jennifer Vriend, lead author of a study published in the Journal of Pediatric Psychology. She said that many teenagers sleep with their phones, and they are awakened regularly by their phones ringing or vibrating throughout the night when they get alert notifications.

One poll of more than 1,000 parents with at least one child between 13 and 18 years old, found that most parents agree (56%) that electronics, particularly cellphones and social media, were robbing their teenagers of sleep.

Another consequence of a teen’s lack of sleep is that they are more likely to perform worse academically. A study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health found that teens who go to bed late had a worse cumulative grade point average (GPA) at high school graduation and more emotional distress in their college years and beyond than teens who go to bed earlier.

Parents cannot force their kids to sleep. However, aiding and abetting kids to sleep less by allowing them to use social media after bedtime is a sure way to create problems.

One last note: research also shows the same issues created by phones occur when other types of screens (tablets, laptops, TVs, etc.) are allowed in teen bedrooms.