"I got my first phone when I was 12, as my mum wanted to be able to contact me to pick me up from school. When I got it, I had strict screen time rules: it was turned off after an hour. I still don't use it much. I'm not on social media. Instagram and TikTok can lead to a lot of problems for your mental health. I've definitely seen friends get self-conscious; double-checking everything they say. Some friends spend more than six hours a day on social media. They use it to keep in touch and post nice pictures."
"I worry that there's so much online that's trackable, which makes me feel uncomfortable. I was part of a dance group in elementary school when I was 10 and now videos of me dancing are still online I didn't even know they'd been posted. Even if I type my friends' names into Google, I can see stuff they did when they were much younger. It's scary, there's no way to reset your past."
A 16-year-old uses screens less than an hour a day and does not use social media. She received her first phone at 12 with rules that it be turned off after an hour and continues to maintain limited use. She believes Instagram and TikTok can harm mental health and has seen friends become self-conscious and over-check their posts. Many peers spend more than six hours daily on social media, affecting sleep and focus on schoolwork. She sometimes feels left out but keeps relationships, is annoyed by friends using phones during hangouts, and fears permanent, trackable online content including childhood videos posted without consent. Neither parent uses social media; her father uses screens heavily for work as a software engineer.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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