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Journal of Pediatric Nursing (2011) 26, 498–499 HOT TOPICS COLUMN Column Editor: Deborah L. McBride, MSN, RN, CPN, CPON, CCRN Deborah L. McBride, MSN, RN, CPN, CPON, CCRN Risks and Benefits of Social Media for Children and Adolescents Deborah L. McBride MSN, RN, CPN, CPON, CCRN ⁎ Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center, Oakland, CA FACEBOOK, TWITTER, AND YouTube bring benefits to children and teenagers, including enhancing communication, broadening social connections, and learning technical skills, but can also expose them to risks, such as cyberbullying, “Facebook depression,” and “sexting,” according to a new report by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP; O'Keeffe, Clarke-Pearson, & Council on Communications and Media, 2011). The new report outlines the latest research on one of the most common activities among today's children and teenagers and describes how health care providers can help families understand these sites and encourage their healthy use. The report considers any site that allows social interaction as a social media site, including social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter; gaming sites and virtual worlds such as Club Penguin, Second Life, and the Sims; video sites such as YouTube; and blogs. The abundance of these sites has grown exponentially in recent years. According to a poll cited in the report, more than half of American teenagers log onto their favorite social media site at least once a day, whereas 22% do so at least 10 times a day; 75% of teenagers now own cell phones, with 54% of them using them for texting, 24% for instant messaging, and 25% for social media access. According to the authors of the new report, increase in social media has been so rapid and their presence in children's everyday life is now so pervasive that, for some teens, social media is the primary way they interact socially, and a large part of this generation's social and emotional development is occurring while on the Internet and on cell phones. Because of their limited capacity for self-regulation and susceptibility to peer pressure, ⁎ Corresponding author: Deborah McBride, MSN, RN, CPN, CPON, CCRN. E-mail address: [email protected]. 0882-5963/$ – see front matter © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.pedn.2011.05.001 children and adolescents are at risk as they navigate and experiment with social media. The report indicates that there are frequent online expressions of offline behaviors, such as bullying, Resources clique forming, and sexual experi• AAP Internet safety mentation, and have introduced resources site, http:// problems such as cyberbullying, safetynet.aap.org privacy issues, and sexting. Other problems that merit awareness in• CDC Social Media clude Internet addiction and concurTools Guidelines & rent sleep deprivation. Best Practices site, Cyberbullying is common; achttp://www.cdc.gov/ cording to a survey cited in the SocialMedia/Tools/ report, 19% of teens say they have guidelines/ been harassed online or cyberbullied, and 38% know of someone • Common Sense else who has been. This can lead to Media (2009). Is anxiety, depression, and suicide technology changing (Common Sense Media, 2009). childhood? A natioThe consequences can be life nal poll on teens and altering, both for the victim and social networking. the bully. These children may require treatment for mental health Retrieved from issues. Although it can be difficult http://www.commonfor a parent to know if their child is sensemedia.org/teena victim of cyberbullying, signs social-media. include avoiding or being anxious around the computer or cell phone. The best advice for parents, according to the authors, is to teach children that they can confide in their parents without getting yelled at. Adults may be surprised how common sexting is within the teen community. The survey cited in the report indicates that 20% of teenagers admit to sending nude or seminude photos of themselves over the Internet (Common Sense