Research & Motivation 

Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy’s warning regarding the link between social media and the resultant “harm to the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents” demands immediate intervention from professionals across all disciplines who work with children, adolescents, and their families.

We were not surprised by the CDC’s recent published findings regarding staggering increases in rates of depression, suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and self-harm among 10-24 year-olds, (particularly amongst girls.)

Additionally, some highlights of recent cutting-edge research reveal:

• Time spent on social media is clearly linked to increases in depression.
  
  

• The concerning connection between the use of smartphones and elevated cortisol and dopamine levels. This finding is even more worrisome for children who are diagnosed with ADHD and/or on the Autism spectrum.
  
  

• Use of electronic devices by 12-24 mos olds is linked to the disruption of their brain development.  As a result, language acquisition and reading ability are negatively impacted.
  
  

These findings mimic what we see in our clinical work.  The severity of this mental health crisis has ignited our shared desire to pivot and to address these issues more globally.