Freeing Our Children from the Harm of Social Media

Five steps to healthier lives for our children and ourselves.

Posted May 6, 2026 | Reviewed by Lybi Ma

Recent lawsuits have confirmed what many of us have suspected—that social media is addictive and can cause anxiety and depression in young people. In March 2026, a California jury found Meta and Google liable for deliberately making apps, including Instagram and YouTube, addictive, undermining the mental health of children and teenagers ( epic.org, 2026 ).

Psychologist Jonathan Haidt (2024; 2026) attributes the dramatic rise in young people’s anxiety and depression to their extensive use of social media, noting that mental illness increased in many industrialized countries when children began using smartphones in the early 2010s. By 2022, 46 percent of teens reported that they were using the Internet almost constantly (Haidt, 2026).

Substituting social media for in-person interactions, play, and conversations with friends compromises young people’s emotional and intellectual development. Recently, New York State United Teachers president, Melinda Person, said that the constant use of personal electronics is affecting students’ ability to focus, connect with their fellow students, be present in reality, and engage in authentic learning. ( American Educator , 2026, p. 8).

Gloria DeGaetano, founder and CEO of the Parent Coaching Institute, has warned of how our “industry-generated culture” has been programming our children with addictive media stimulation and undermining their healthy development (2004). After examining 60 years of research and over 200 studies (2023), she concludes that “whether old-fashioned TV programs, computers, tablets or smart phones, the research is clear: too much time with a flat 2-D surface disrupts healthy cognitive, emotional and social development,” emphasizing that “children and teens need age-appropriate time in the natural world, not eight hours a day with a machine.” (Personal communication, May 2026).

American Educator. (2026, Spring). Bell to bell : New York’s cellphone ban is enriching classrooms and allowing kids to be kids. American Educator, 50 (1), 8-11.

DeGaetano, G. (2004). Parenting well in a media age : Keeping our kids human. Fawnskin, CA: Personhood Press.

DeGaetano, G (2023). Patterns over time: A research summary: screen time and healthy development. Bellingham, WA: Creative Source Publishers.

Haidt, J. (2024). The anxious generation . New York, NY: Penguin Press.

Haidt, J. (2026, Spring). Distracted by design : Smartphones harm children’s mental health and learning—But we can fight back. American Educator, 50 (1), 4-7.

Kristina, P. C., et al. (2026). The Importance of play in early childhood learning: A holistic approach . Genius, General Education, and Innovation Studies. 1 (1), 1-9.

Picture: Golding, S. J. (2019, Sept 23). Sitting on Steps. Creative Commons Wikimedia Commons .

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Diane Dreher, Ph.D. , is an author, researcher, and positive psychology coach.

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This article is part of the Bringwise Psychology Journal — daily insights on human behavior, mental health, and personal growth.