Action needed to protect kids’ mental health from social media, bipartisan panelists say

SIOUX FALLS — The kids are not all right, and replacing socializing with social media contributes to it.

That consensus emerged during a public dialogue Friday on the mental health challenges faced by America’s youth, hosted by the Bipartisan Policy Center at the Avera Behavioral Health Hospital in collaboration with the Helmsley Charitable Trust. 

The Bipartisan Policy Center is a Washington, D.C.-based think tank established by former U.S. Sen. Tom Daschle, D-South Dakota, and others. A video message from Daschle was played at the start of the dialogue.

One of the dialogue participants, Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken, a Republican, highlighted the impact of social media and the weakening of community bonds as contributors to youth mental health problems. He said those problems were exacerbated when people stayed home during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“When you isolate people – I don’t care if you’re a kid, an adult, a senior in a senior living facility – isolation is not good for your mental health,” he said. “We are designed to be in community with one another.”

More than 40% of U.S. teenagers say they struggle with persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness. Youth suicide attempts and drug overdoses are increasing.

State survey data shows the number of South Dakota high schoolers suffering a serious injury from an attempted suicide grew by 100% between 2009 and 2019. The state had the second-highest suicide rate in the U.S. for teens ages 15 to 19 from 2018 to 2020. In 2019, 23% of South Dakota high schoolers seriously considered suicide, 19% planned an attempt, and 12% made an attempt. Among Native American students, 31% reported attempting suicide.

High schoolers suffer rising mental health challenges, report shows

The center created a Youth Mental Health and Substance Use Task Force in January. The dialogue was part of the center’s tour across rural America to learn more. It brought together policymakers and health experts to discuss treatment needs, dissect the complex causes and discuss policy solutions.

TenHaken said mentorship programs can make a difference.

“As cliché and kind of corny and simple as that sounds, there’s a lot of youth living in very dark, lonely places,” he said, which “forces them to live life on screens.”

Co-chair of the youth mental health task force and Democratic former U.S. representative from Florida, Val Demings, said she does not blame policymakers who encouraged kids to stay home for public health during the pandemic. 

“We lost a million people in this country,” Demings said. 

However, she added that policymakers moving forward have to acknowledge the long-term mental health side effects of removing children from their friends and mentors. 

“Now, we know better,” she said. 

Demings told South Dakota Searchlight that implementing a policy limiting youth social media use or banning it for children under a certain age is necessary but difficult to implement in Congress.

“Some members come from certain districts where the headquarters of a social media platform is located,” Demings said. 

She’s optimistic lawmakers are warming up to greater regulations – pointing to the recent bipartisan push to force China-based ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a national ban.

Demings said the task force is looking at advocating for a federal office responsible for regulating social media. 

On treatment – which health care officials on a separate panel said needs more funding and staffing – Demings told South Dakota Searchlight that fiscally conservative policymakers should see investments in youth mental health as ensuring a productive and healthy future labor force. 

South Dakota Department of Social Services Secretary Matt Althoff offered a different take. He said “faithlessness” may be a primary contributor to the U.S. mental health crisis. 

“This is a critical thing that isn’t getting enough attention — the evil that is afoot, the secularistic sort of influences that are pulling people away from what has historically been a turning to God,” Althoff said.

Althoff told South Dakota Searchlight he was not referring to any one religion in particular, but rather what believing in a higher power can do for an individual and society.

If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, help is available anytime by dialing 988. The service is free and confidential.