The mental health concerns of our children and social media is one of the concerns a former Facebook employee brought up when testifying on Capitol Hill.
Retreat Behavioral Health Therapist Mark Sigmund says biggest things teens do is compare themselves and this causes negative impacts on mental health.
"It can have far reaching consequences on kids. These kids are getting addicted to things like Instagram and social media, “said Sigmund.
Which can lead to depression.
"These kids are making unfair comparisons with other kids like how many likes are they getting, how do they look, they're using filters to change how they look, “said Sigmund.
Therapist Mark Sigmund also says social media among young people are not safe. It can lead to cyber bulling, or even worse.
"You've heard of instances of suicides over the years, and they've tied them into a person being cyber bullied on social media, “says Sigmund.
Former employee Fraces Haugen said Facebook is even exploiting teens using powerful algorithms that amplifies their insecurities.
"Sometimes kids will share a picture of themselves on social media that they probably shouldn't be sharing, and it spreads throughout the entire school, “said Sigmund.
Frances also alleged that Facebook targets children under the age of 13 with addictive procducts.
"Kids are buying drugs from each other, using social media and the internet, and with fentanyl out there right now. This is a big issue, “said Sigmund.
Deleting social media apps can also be easier said than done.
"So if a kid tries to say okay well this is becoming a problem for me and I'm looking at Instagram too much, it's not like they can delete the account right away. It'll take a month to actually delete the account, “said Sigmund.
Sigmund also said too much time on the apps can cause more issues with anxiety and depression. He recommends limiting time on social media to two hours a day or less.