LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Many parents struggle when it comes to the best approach to social media for their children, but a Norton Children's psychologist has some advice.
Dr. Katy Hopkins said there are some good parts of social media, especially connecting us to family and friends. But there are also risks.
Hopkins said those risks depend on how much kids are using it, what the algorithm is feeding them, and if they're being cyberbullied. She said under the age of 10 is too young for social media use, but after that every kid is different.
"I'd be looking closely at, where are they in terms of their real-life friendships? How good are they at managing conflicts with friends in real life? Also, importantly, are they maintaining and hanging out with those friends in real life? We know that as social media has really grown, kids are spending, and teenagers, and adults, are spending less and less time out with their friends, really interacting," she said. "And that really comes at the cost of developing some really crucial conflict resolution skills, relationship building skills."
When it comes to screen time, Hopkins said it's more about limiting how often kids are on screens than introducing it at a specific age.
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