Teens and TikTok: How Parents Shape Social Media Habits

Nine out of ten U.S. teens are using at least one social media platform, with nearly half of teens reporting that they are “online almost constantly” (Pew Research Center, 2024). Past research has shown that social media use is associated with depression and anxiety, and sleep difficulties (Hamilton et al., 2023; Shannon et al., 2022).

However, a meta-analysis (review of multiple studies) examining adolescent social media use and mental health by Ferguson et al. (2024) found that the current research does not fully support the claim that social media use causes mental health problems in adolescents. It’s complicated. While there is some evidence linking social media use to adolescent well-being, findings remain mixed and inconclusive, with no clear-cut answer as to how social media use affects teens (Sequeira et al. 2025).

Not surprisingly, social media and mental health are of major concern to parents. Over half (55%) of parents report being extremely or very concerned about the mental health of teens today, and 44% of parents blame social media as the source of mental health problems (Pew Research Center, 2024). However, most teens believe that they benefit from social media, with many sharing that it helps them form social connections and express creativity (Pew Research Center, 2024). As such, how can parents maximize the benefits of social media use for their teens while minimizing the risks associated with it?

Parents may be essential in promoting healthy social media use habits and protecting their kids from the harmful effects of social media. In this emerging area of research, scientists are investigating how parenting practices may influence adolescent social media use and which parenting strategies are effective for teens in the digital age.

In a recent study conducted by Nagata et al. (2025), researchers found that parents’ screen use, family mealtime screen use, and bedroom screen use were related to higher adolescent screen time and problematic social media use. These findings suggest that when parents use screens a lot themselves and allow their kids to use screens during meals or in the bedroom, teens may be more likely to develop unhealthy screen habits.

In that same study, researchers also found that parental monitoring of screens and limiting screen time were associated with lower screen time and less problematic social media use. This highlights the important role parents may play in promoting healthier screen habits among their teens.

What can parents do to support their teens? Here is what the scientists and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend:

• Create family media use plans: Implement rules/guidelines around when screen-free times should be (especially during mealtime and bedtime) and have discussions with your child on why boundaries on screentime are important.
• More importantly, work together with your teen to establish clear rules and expectations, as media use plans are more successful when they are implemented proactively than reactively (Vossen et al. 2024)
• Minimize the use of screens to control behaviors (whether it is as a reward or punishment). Teens during adolescence are actively seeking independence and autonomy. Trying to control or restrict them may backfire, as they may view their parents as intrusive, prompting them to reject any rules set.
• Foster positive parent-child interactions and broader positive parenting practices (showing affection and responsiveness towards your child). A review of parenting and problematic social media use found that there is consistent evidence that these parenting factors may be more helpful in preventing problematic social media use (Vossen et al., 2024).

Parents and their teens may benefit from implementing these parenting strategies from research studies. However, this area of research is still new, leaving many questions to be answered, such as: Do these parenting practices have long-term effects on adolescent outcomes? How do parenting practices differ on weekdays vs weekends?

Further, we know that the effects of social media use on youth outcomes are likely to be individualized, meaning that social media does not affect everyone in the same way and fluctuates over time (Beyens et al., 2020; Pouwels et al., 2024). Nevertheless, these findings provide valuable insights for parents into which parenting practices may serve as protective or risk factors in mitigating the negative effects of social media.