Excessive use of social media by preteens has been linked to several health and mental health issues, such as poor sleep patterns, low self-esteem, and cyberbullying. A recent article from the Brookings Institution revealed that Latino youth are more susceptible to these impacts than other racial groups.
The article, titled "Latino parents support policies addressing social media’s impact on children’s mental health," indicates that Latinos have a higher social media usage rate than non-Latinos. Furthermore, Latinos have a higher percentage of youth ages 10 through 18 engaging in social media than any other racial group in the United States. Compounding the situation, Latino children lack adequate access to mental health services compared to other racial groups, according to the article's author Gabriel Sanchez, a senior fellow of Governance Studies at Brookings.
Based on a survey, commissioned by the Omidyar Network in 2023, entitled "Parents of Latino Youth Social Media and Mental Health Survey," Sanchez revealed in the article that 71% of Latino parents say their teens and pre-teens use social media; 81% report that their children in the 15 to 18 age group use social media. Of those with kids using it, 71% say their children spend "several hours a day" or are "almost constantly" on a social media platform. The report also shows that Latino parents appear to be aware of the effects of heavy social media usage—44% are extremely concerned about their children’s mental health and 27% are moderately concerned.
According to the same article, the survey found that Latino parents also have formed strong preferences on approaches to tackle the pre-teen social media safety issue. Close to 100% support "strengthening safety standards required for social media platforms to make social media safer for children of all ages by better protecting children’s privacy through apps and social media platforms." Nearly three-quarters of respondents strongly supported this type of intervention. Over 90% support "requiring technology companies to better and more transparently assess the impact of their products on children, and establish age restrictions for social media use on their platforms," with 67% strongly supporting it. The report also reveals that Latino parents view schools as part of the solution: 93% support and 65% strongly support the inclusion of digital and social media literacy and safety in school curriculums.
