How New Social Media Protocols Could Shape Your Teen’s Mental Health: What Parents Need to Know
Discover how new social media safety protocols, including the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the Children’s and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0), may impact rates of depression, anxiety, ADHD, and addiction among teens. Learn how neuroscience backs these changes and how Embodied Wellness and Recovery supports adolescent and teen mental health.
New social Media Safety Protocols
With the rapid rise of social media use among teens, concerns about the mental health impacts have grown increasingly urgent. We’ve all heard the stories—adolescents overwhelmed by depression, anxiety, ADHD, and even addiction, with their mental health suffering in the shadows of their online lives. But will new social media safety protocols, like the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the Children’s and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0), actually protect our youth? And how will these regulations influence the rates of mental health issues among teens? Let’s explore these questions through the lens of neuroscience and modern adolescent psychology.
The Hidden Struggle: Teens and Social Media
Social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat have become the epicenters of teen social interaction. While these platforms offer connectivity and self-expression, they also open the door to darker realities. Studies show that excessive use of social media can increase feelings of loneliness, comparison, and rejection, which can lead to depression, anxiety, and even addictive behaviors. The constant influx of likes, comments, and shares activates the brain’s reward circuitry, particularly the dopamine pathways, leading to a cycle of compulsive use—behavior often seen in addiction (Choukas-Bradley et al., 2020).
Teens, whose brains are still developing, are particularly susceptible to these effects. The prefrontal cortex, responsible for decision-making and impulse control, isn’t fully developed until the mid-20s, which means that adolescents are more likely to engage in risky or compulsive behaviors without fully understanding the consequences. Could new social media safety laws be the answer to protecting these vulnerable brains?
The Kids Online Safety Act: What Does It Mean for Mental Health?
The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) aims to establish new safety guidelines that compel social media platforms to prioritize the well-being of users under the age of 16. It mandates more robust content moderation to curb exposure to harmful material—such as content promoting self-harm, eating disorders, and cyberbullying—and requires platforms to offer options for parental controls. By reducing exposure to toxic content, KOSA could lessen the rates of cyberbullying, a known contributor to depression and anxiety in teens (Hinduja & Patchin, 2019).
But can algorithms alone protect our teens from these harmful experiences? One of the core concerns with social media is that algorithms are designed to keep users engaged, often feeding teens content that exacerbates their mental health issues. KOSA’s intention is to shift this dynamic, but its success will depend largely on how effectively platforms can adjust their algorithms and whether teens will seek out healthier content.
The Children’s and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0)
The Children’s and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0) builds on existing laws by extending privacy protections for teens (up to 16 years old). One of the most significant components of this act is limiting how much personal data companies can collect and use to target adolescents. Given the increasing body of research showing how tailored advertisements and “dopamine-triggering” content drive addictive behaviors in young people, reducing targeted ads could help mitigate compulsive scrolling and screen addiction (Center for Humane Technology, 2021).
Will this reduce the “rabbit hole” effect, where one video or post leads to hours of mindless scrolling? There’s hope that by preventing companies from exploiting teen vulnerabilities through tailored algorithms, COPPA 2.0 could help teens develop healthier online habits.
The Neuroscience Behind Social Media and Mental Health
Why are teens so deeply impacted by social media? The answer lies in neuroscience. Social media engagement activates the dopaminergic system in the brain, which is the same system involved in pleasure, reward, and addiction (Turel & Bechara, 2016). This makes social media engagement similar to addictive substances or behaviors—each notification or like becomes a hit of dopamine, encouraging teens to return for more.
Over time, this can lead to dopamine desensitization, where the brain needs more frequent or intense stimulation to experience pleasure. This desensitization can contribute to depression, anxiety, and ADHD-like symptoms as teens become more focused on external validation than their own internal emotional regulation.
How Will These New Protocols Affect Rates of Depression, Anxiety, and ADHD?
It’s still unclear how much these laws will impact mental health issues in teens, but the potential is there. If platforms successfully reduce harmful content and limit the addictive design of social media, we could see a decrease in the compulsive behaviors that lead to depression and anxiety. At the same time, these regulations will need to be enforced consistently and effectively for the long-term impact to be measurable.
Will parents feel more empowered with increased control over their children’s online experiences? Will teens use the internet more mindfully when harmful algorithms are removed from their feeds? These are important questions that will shape the future of adolescent mental health.
Embodied Wellness and Recovery: Expert Support for Teen Mental Health
At Embodied Wellness and Recovery, we are committed to helping teens navigate the complex relationship between social media and mental health. Our approach integrates neuroscience-backed strategies to treat depression, anxiety, ADHD, and addiction. We believe that a compassionate and holistic approach—one that blends traditional psychotherapy with somatic practices—can offer teens the support they need to thrive in an increasingly digital world.
We know that these new regulations are just one piece of the puzzle. If your teen is struggling with the effects of social media, with anxiety, self-esteem, or digital overload, OUR TEAM of experts is here to offer support and solutions tailored to their unique needs. Explore our teen programs HERE, or schedule a FREE 20-minute consultation with one of our experienced therapists HERE. Together, let’s support your teen in cultivating mental wellness, both online and offline.
Will New Social Media Laws Make a Difference?
While the Kids Online Safety Act and COPPA 2.0 offer a hopeful start, it remains to be seen whether these changes will significantly reduce the rates of depression, anxiety, and addiction among teens. What is clear is that addressing these mental health issues requires a multi-faceted approach. With neuroscience showing the strong link between social media use and mental health struggles, it’s more important than ever to provide teens with the tools they need to navigate the digital world healthily and mindfully. In addition to TEEN COUNSELING, Embodied Wellness and Recovery also offers SELF-ESTEEM COACHING and ADHD COACHING.
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References
- Choukas-Bradley, S., Nesi, J., Widman, L., & Higgins, M. K. (2020). Online social comparisons and feedback-seeking behaviors among adolescents: Prospective links to depression. *Child Development*, 91(2), e310-e325.
- Hinduja, S., & Patchin, J. W. (2019). Cyberbullying: Identification, prevention, and response. *Cyberbullying Research Center*.
- Turel, O., & Bechara, A. (2016). Social networking site use while driving: ADHD and the mediating roles of stress, self-esteem, and craving. *Frontiers in Psychology*, 7, 455.
- Center for Humane Technology. (2021). The social dilemma: How social media affects mental health.
