Do you ever wonder what your kid’s looking at on social media? There’s a good chance it’s an advertisement.
A study released this month from Harvard’s School of Public Health found that in 2022, six major social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X and YouTube generated nearly $11 billion in advertising revenue from U.S. youth aged 17 and younger.
Dr. Amanda Raffoul, an instructor in pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital, is the study’s lead author.
“I think it’s really important for parents and caretakers to realize that their child’s time online is monetized,” Raffoul said. “These platforms are exploiting and taking advantage of the attention that youth are spending and giving to social media platforms.”
Raffoul says the high amount of ad revenue generated from kids demonstrates the need for government regulation of these platforms.
According to Raffoul, there’s no legal obligation for any social media companies to change their practices in a way that would be less harmful for young users.
She said companies are unlikely to make changes to how their platforms work and the impact they may have on youth mental health because they’re making so much money from those users.
“Studies like this show that social media platforms don’t have any financial incentive to self-regulate, or to make any changes,” Raffoul said. “And so, it’s really important for legislation to be put in place that not only regulates the practices that harm youth mental health, but also to make sure that social media platforms are transparent with their data and their practices and the types of impact that it can have on young people.”
Research has shown how social media advertisements can shape the psychology and opinions of young people. Negative mental health outcomes from exposure to ads include depression, anxiety, body dissatisfaction, as well as eating disorders.
In May, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called on tech companies and lawmakers to take “immediate action” to protect kids’ and adolescents’ mental health on social media.
“Our children and adolescents don’t have the luxury of waiting years until we know the full extent of social media’s impact,” Murthy said in an advisory. “Their childhoods and development are happening now.”
