In this webinar of the Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology, Sr. Marysia Weber, RSM, and Dr. Kevin Powell, discuss the effects of social media on children. (April 13, 2024)

Is the increasing number of hours that children are spending using smartphones having any effects on their brains and psychosocial well-being? Research is telling us that the answer to this question is a resounding yes! This presentation will address how excessive use of digital devices is impacting psychosocial maturation and is altering brain development in ways similar to the alterations noted in substance use disorders. Practical means of addressing these detrimental effects will also be highlighted.

Technology changes communication and social lifestyles. This has been true since the invention of the printing press and the telephone. Technological progress will have both positive and negative effects on society. It is not enough to measure harms and act like outraged Luddites. Ethical societies measure and balance the positive impacts. It is not enough to weigh pros and cons. Communities should regulate technology so that positives are appropriately rewarded, negatives are mitigated, and just remediation is provided for economic externalities that generate profit for some while harming other people, society, and the environment. Laws are not enough. Moral formation needs to be updated and augmented to enable beneficial development and adoption of technology. Children, who have never known anything different, are the most strongly impacted by the harms, the least able to resist trends, and the most in need of the moral formation.

How Does Social Media Affect Children? - Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology (faithscience.org)