Explicit content, time-wasting are key social media worries for parents

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Hispanic parents are very worried about their teen sharing too much about their personal life… been harassed or bullied, experience problems with anxiety or depression but are less likely to check their teen’s social media activity.

Facts:
-45% of Hispanic parents say they are extremely or very worried that their teen’s social media use could lead to them oversharing online, compared with 30% of White parents and 29% of Black parents.
-Hispanic parents are also more likely than White and Black parents to be extremely or very concerned about social media leading to cyberbullying, anxiety or depression, exposure to explicit content, or lower self-esteem.
-Black parents of teens are more likely than Hispanic or White parents to check their teens’ social media activity.

Parents have a range of concerns when it comes to their teenagers using social media, with access to explicit content and time-wasting ranking among those at the top of the list, according to a Pew Research Center survey of parents of teens ages 13 to 17 conducted this spring. The survey also shows that a majority of parents are keeping a watchful eye on what their teens do on social media. Some are also imposing screen time restrictions on these sites.
While social media has allowed people to easily seek out information, some say it has also made inappropriate and explicit content more accessible. Nearly half of parents of teens (46%) say they are extremely or very worried that their teen’s use of social media could lead to them being exposed to explicit content, according to the April 14-May 4, 2022, poll.
The impact of social media on productivity is also a key concern for parents. Some 42% say they are extremely or very worried about their teen wasting too much time on social media, while 38% express the same level of concern about their child being distracted from completing their homework because they are using social media.
About a third of parents (34%) are extremely or very worried about their teen sharing too much about their personal life. Roughly three-in-ten say the same about social media leading their teen to feel pressure to act a certain way (32%), be harassed or bullied (29%), experience problems with anxiety or depression (28%) or experience lower self-esteem (27%). Still, about half of parents (47%) say they are only a little or not at all worried about social media causing anxiety or depression in their teen.