By Kelly Carbone

As summer continues and students spend more time online, conversations surrounding social media and youth mental health are becoming increasingly urgent. Without the structure of the school year, many children and teens experience a rise in screen time through social media, video platforms, gaming, and messaging apps. While technology can provide opportunities for creativity and connection, research continues to raise concerns about how excessive or unhealthy online engagement may impact emotional well-being, particularly among young people.

At Embright Education, these conversations connect closely to the importance of social-emotional learning. Building emotional awareness, healthy relationships, confidence, and responsible decision-making helps students develop the tools needed to navigate both online and offline environments in positive and balanced ways. As children prepare to transition back into the school year, social-emotional learning can play an important role in helping students build healthier habits surrounding technology and social media use.

Research has increasingly linked excessive social media use with higher rates of anxiety, depression, loneliness, and low self-esteem among adolescents. In a recent advisory, the U.S. Surgeon General warned that social media may pose risks to the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents, particularly with excessive or problematic use. Researchers and mental health experts continue to study how prolonged exposure to online comparison, cyberbullying, and constant digital engagement may contribute to emotional distress among young people. According to national reporting and ongoing public discussions, many social media platforms are intentionally designed to maximize engagement through features such as notifications, endless scrolling, and algorithm-driven content recommendations. These concerns have contributed to growing national conversations about the impact of social media on youth mental health.

At the same time, experts emphasize that social media itself is not inherently harmful. In the 2023 Social Media and Youth Mental Health Advisory, the U.S. Surgeon General noted that “social media can provide benefits for some youth by providing positive community and connection with others who share identities, abilities, and interests. It can provide access to important information and create a space for self-expression.” As conversations around youth mental health continue to evolve, the focus has increasingly shifted toward understanding how children engage with technology, the quality of their online experiences, and whether they have the emotional tools needed to navigate digital spaces in healthy and balanced ways.

Embright Education’s social-emotional learning framework supports these conversations through its focus on self-awareness, self-management, relationship building, social awareness, and responsible decision-making. These pillars help students develop confidence, emotional regulation, empathy, mindfulness, communication skills, and positive coping strategies that support healthier digital habits. Teaching students how to manage emotions, set boundaries, and build positive relationships can help them navigate online pressures more effectively while strengthening overall emotional resilience.

Conversations about social media and youth mental health have expanded beyond households and classrooms into schools, public policy, and even legal discussions about limiting youth access to social media platforms. As concerns continue to grow around anxiety, depression, cyberbullying, and unhealthy online habits among young people, families, educators, and mental health professionals are working to better understand how to support students in an increasingly digital world. In coverage of U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy’s New York Times Opinion essay, ABC News highlighted research published in JAMA Psychiatry that found “kids ages 12 to 15 who spend more than three hours per day on social media had double the rate of mental health issues like depression and anxiety.” These discussions continue to highlight the importance of proactive, preventative approaches that help children build emotional resilience, healthy coping skills, and positive relationships both online and offline.

As the new school year approaches, families, educators, and communities can help students develop healthier relationships with technology. Encouraging balanced routines, promoting offline activities, creating opportunities for meaningful social connection, and maintaining open conversations about online experiences can all support emotional well-being. Establishing structure around screen time, particularly before bed or during family time, can also help students maintain healthier habits as they transition back into academic routines.

Creating opportunities for children to engage in face-to-face interaction, outdoor activities, creative hobbies, sports, and mindfulness practices can further support emotional balance while reducing dependence on screens for entertainment or validation. Open and judgment-free conversations about social media can also help children feel more comfortable discussing online pressures, cyberbullying, comparison, or negative experiences they may encounter. When students feel supported and heard, they are often better equipped to navigate challenges in healthy and productive ways.

Modeling healthy digital habits as adults is equally important. Children often observe how parents, caregivers, and educators engage with technology, making positive examples especially impactful. Helping children recognize how social media affects their emotions, confidence, stress levels, and self-esteem can encourage greater self-awareness and healthier decision-making when using digital platforms. In a New York Times Opinion essay, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy emphasized the importance of creating boundaries around technology use, writing, “The rest of society can play a role also. Schools should ensure that classroom learning and social time are phone-free experiences. Parents, too, should create phone-free zones around bedtime, meals and social gatherings to safeguard their kids’ sleep and real-life connections — both of which have direct effects on mental health.” His message reinforces the important role that adults, schools, and families play in helping children develop healthier and more balanced relationships with technology.

We believe social-emotional learning provides students with the foundation needed to navigate today’s world with confidence, empathy, and self-awareness. Through skills rooted in emotional regulation, relationship-building, mindfulness, communication, and responsible decision-making, students can develop the resilience needed to manage both academic and social challenges, including those connected to technology and social media use.

By helping children strengthen emotional awareness and build healthy coping strategies from an early age, social-emotional learning supports not only mental wellness but also long-term personal growth and academic success. As technology continues to play a larger role in everyday life, equipping students with these foundational skills can empower them to thrive both inside and outside of the classroom.

 

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