Social media platforms like Instagram, X and TikTok have become landscapes for learning and increasing awareness of topics like mental health. But for children who are learning how to navigate virtual spaces, the pitfalls are many and hidden. Educators and researchers are becoming increasingly worried how much kids are absorbing the digital information they find online about mental health, which kids are unlikely to fully grasp even if the information is trustworthy.
“I have had sixth graders who will come into my office and we’ll be talking about something and they’ll say, ‘Well, yes, because of my anxiety.’ And I’ll say, ‘Oh, I didn’t know that you were diagnosed with anxiety. Did you go to a doctor and get a diagnosis?’ And they will say, ‘No, I’ve just been watching a lot of TikTok videos and I think that I have anxiety,” said Hanna Kemble, an elementary school counselor and a counselor leader coordinator for the state of Kansas.
School counselors across the country describe similar experiences to Kemble’s. Schoolchildren are using social media to diagnose themselves with a mental illness or psychological issue.
For many counselors, the prevalence of children using social media to self-diagnose suggests a larger problem related to lasting social and emotional impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, unregulated virtual spaces and the importance of teaching media literacy skills. Technology may pose solutions, too: some counselors say they are changing how they connect with students and are testing out artificial intelligence platforms.
Among youth, “at least one in three have looked for mental health information on social media sites such as YouTube (38 percent) and TikTok (34 percent),” according to a 2024 Common Sense Media report, the nonprofit dedicated to media research and advocacy.
“There is an epidemic of isolation and loneliness that, post pandemic, we still haven’t addressed,” said Jamie Nunez, senior manager at Common Sense Media. “And because of the big role counselors have, the ratio between counselor and students doesn’t always lend itself to that type of emotional support.”
Not Just Guidance
School counselors play a vital role in helping to develop children’s emotional regulation and social skills, said Kemble.
“Guidance is a bad word,” Kemble said, referring to the traditional role of school counselors. “You think of somebody who is scheduling your classes, helping you with scholarships, but school counselors are much more than that. We are invested in empowering them with life skills so we are thinking about social-emotional learning. We’re thinking about careers, academics — and that boils down to making sure all of our students are well-rounded when they leave us,” she said.
But many counselors find that they are overworked, given too many students to oversee and tasked with responsibilities outside of their jobs, such as preparing state tests, said Sarah Kirk, a former school counselor in California who now trains counselors throughout the nation.
The American School Counselor Association recommends a ratio of one counselor to 250 students. But a recent report found that the national average is 385:1. In Kansas, Kemble is the only counselor for the 450 students at her school.
“This idea of students going to social media for support is because they don’t always feel that they have anyone in their school or community to go to,” Kirk said. “I think that really shows that our school counselors often aren’t allowed to do their true role.”
Many youth report battling feelings of depression and anxiety, and physical issues such as eating disorders and drug use, according to the Common Sense Media study.
Nunez warns that using social media during times of emotional challenges can be especially dangerous for schoolchildren as virtual algorithms regurgitate similar content and increase the potential for children to engage with inaccurate or troubling information.
“Social media companies do play a role in feeding content to our kids that can be concerning,” said Nunez. “The child will not only get things like how to address a symptom or what a particular mental health related issue might be, they also get things like validation from their peers.”
Befriending Chatbots
The growing dependence on social media is also leading to an increase in the use of AI chatbots among youth as they explore digital forms of connection.
Researchers from the University of Cambridge in the U.K. warn that an “empathy gap” exists among AI chatbots that can be especially dangerous for kids who are still developing their cognitive skills.
In recent years, various AI companies have been legally implicated for their chatbots instructing minors to commit suicide, develop romantic relationships and partake in dangerous actions. In response to the unregulated field of technology, Congress has considered legislation, including the Kids Off Social Media Act and Youth Mental Health Research Act.
Georgia, New York and North Dakota are among many states to have banned cellphones as part of a growing effort to reduce digital dependence among youth.
Kemble, who works with nearly double the amount of students recommended for a single counselor, has welcomed AI in her work.
“I think we as educators have to have our own AI literacy,” said Kemble. “I do see across the board, whether I’m talking to counselors or teachers, there’s a real hesitancy to utilize [AI] with students, and I totally understand that from a safety and ethical perspective. But I also see where we need students to start learning how to use this in a safe way because this is going to become a part of their life, whether we know [how to use] it or not.”
Kemble uses the platform SchoolAI to create and direct chatbots that students use for career, academic or emotional support. One chatbot she created, Scout the Career Fox, has become a student favorite, she said.
“You can see what your students are up to and it will alert you if anything is suspicious. So it will tell you, ‘Hey, you need to check on this kid because they put something that shows they were in crisis.’ Or you could also look at it and it’ll say, ‘Hey, this kiddo is not quite understanding the assignment. Might need to check on them,” said Kemble.
Kemble said she fears that adults will not learn the skills needed to navigate AI, therefore leaving a gap in understanding among children and the educators around them.
In her use of AI, Kemble requires parental consent and trains students and families that the chatbot is not a real person — it’s a robot.
“I really am thinking hard, ethically, when it comes to this because I don’t want the lines blurred between what should be a human helping you versus a chatbot. But I also see the benefit of having help right when you need it,” said Kemble.
She highlighted a formula known among educators as H + AI + H.
“H stands for human, the middle is the AI component, and then it wraps back around to the human,” said Kemble. “I think that that’s a balanced approach in a way that somebody’s monitoring your usage. They’re checking in on you, they’re seeing how you’re using this and we’re making sure it’s in a safe and ethical way.”
No Judgment
Educators and researchers agree that stronger efforts need to be made in teaching media literacy skills.
“We need to teach media literacy early and often, before a child is exposed to social media,” said Nunez. “We need to teach our kids who’s the creator [of the technology], what’s their expertise, what’s their agenda, what are they ultimately trying to sell?”
He emphasized that open dialog is crucial.
“Rather than banning content or shaming students about what they’re watching, I think it’s important to support and have a dialog between counselors, teachers and parents around what those safe spaces are,” said Nunez.
In California, Kirk sees yoga as a way to connect with youth. Kirk and her team have trained approximately 60,000 teachers and educators around the country in the foundations of yoga, including breathing, meditating and stretching, as tools for building emotional skills.
“I think in schools we talk a lot about social-emotional learning. We talk a lot about coping skills, but we’re kind of doing it for students,” said Kirk. “We say, ‘Okay, it looks like you’re upset. Let’s take a deep breath.’ And they take a deep breath and maybe they feel better, but that’s not going to teach students how to utilize that later on their own and really integrate it into their own lives.”
Classrooms have limited space, Kirk said, but most yoga poses can be done without a mat. The work is critical in developing lifelong skills — a key role of school counselors, she said.
This post is exclusively published on eduexpertisehub.com
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