Social Media: Anticipatory Guidance

David L. Hill, MD* 1. *Department of Pediatrics, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC Clinicians should be aware of roles that social media play in child and adolescent health and development and be prepared to guide parents and patients toward best practices in social media use. After completing this article, readers should be able to: 1. Recognize the major benefits and risks posed by social media throughout the course of child development. 2. Become comfortable addressing the roles that social media play in the most important aspects of child health and development, including psychosocial development, academic performance, healthy weight and sleep habits, and minimizing high-risk behaviors. Dr Victor Strasburger wrote in 2010: “The media are not the leading cause of any health problem in childhood or adolescence. However, they can make a substantial contribution to virtually every health concern that pediatricians and parents have about young people—aggression, sex, drugs, obesity, self-image and eating disorders, depression and suicide, even learning disorders and academic achievement.” (1) Since that time, the use of digital media has proliferated, along with our understanding of how such media affect child and adolescent health and development. To Dr Strasburger’s list we would now add risks including sleep deprivation, problematic Internet use, and Internet gaming disorder. At the same time, this assessment overlooks some of the potential benefits that social media have to contribute to children’s education, connectedness, and resilience. Although many pediatricians feel comfortable using some social media platforms, fewer counsel parents and patients on social media use. The American …