Growing up in the nineties, the only screen time we had was watching TV and playing games on a desktop computer, and even then it was a few hours after homework was done and limited on the weekends. Growing up now, the world has exploded with all different resources for social media such as desktop computers, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. You can access the internet from almost any device. It's amazing how advanced we've become in technology. However, too much technology isn't always a good thing. Study's have shown that people who are "addicted" to technologies and social media have more anxiety and are more depressed.

Pretty much anywhere you go, you see people surfing the web, or scrolling through a social media website such as Facebook or Instagram. From waiting in line at a coffee shop to getting a pedicure at the salon, people can be seen staring at a screen in front of them. This much access to screen time has had a negative impact on social activity among people, especially in children, and has increased the amount of depression and anxiety in teenagers. Also, due to social media, bullying has become an epidemic in the United States. One in three students have been victims of bullying, this to me is very unsettling.

I think it is very important for parents to monitor and restrict their children's screen time as much as possible. This means having access to their social media accounts and putting parental controls on their devices. Furthermore, making sure your child gets a lot of time outside or playing a sport where they are not staring at a screen in front of them is important because not having face to face social interaction with others can be detrimental to our well-being. Therefore, if you are a parent to a child or teenager who seems to spend too much time in front of a screen, make sure they put the phone or tablet down for a period of time each day and have more face to face social interactions with people. Doing so can improve their overall mental health.