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Key Takeaways from FX’s Docuseries ‘Social Studies’

Texting. Commenting on posts. Watching and sending videos. Taking and editing photos. These are just some of the constant screen interactions of teenagers today.

Studies regarding the negative effects of these screen-based social interactions have led many parents to worry about their teens. Teenagers themselves seem to be aware of the correlation between their use of social media and a decline in mental health. Social media companies are getting sued for their inaction regarding teens’ online safety (and are now taking measures to make their apps somewhat safer for adolescents). Some countries are even implementing bans on social media to protect vulnerable youths.

And yet, social media seems to be an inescapable entity (or entities).

In Lauren Greenfield’s FX docuseries, Social Studies (streaming on Hulu), a Los Angeles teen named Cooper has a reason for this: “How do you get off social media without people forgetting you exist?”

Greenfield follows Cooper, along with her classmates and peers, over the course of a single schoolyear. They are among the first generation to be born into a world where social media already was already ubiquitous. They’ve never known a world without Facebook—though notably, most don’t actually use Facebook, preferring TikTok, Snapchat or Instagram instead.

The series explores the direct impact this technology has had on today’s youth. Using screen recordings taken directly from the phones of teenagers, it showcases not only how these adolescents interact with each other but also how social media makes them see themselves, their relationships, their successes and their failures. The series shows how social media augments all these things, putting every aspect of their lives under a microscope to be judged by the masses—and especially, why none of them seem able to truly leave social media behind. It’s not just because of FOMO (fear of missing out), but because social media has become the only way their friends and families even know how to communicate anymore.

Those are important observations for families to grapple with. That said, if parents are considering watching this docuseries, there are some serious concerns to be aware of beforehand, all of which feel more extreme when you consider the fact that the subjects are real-world minors: foul language, including multiple uses of the f-word; illegal behavior, namely drug and alcohol use; LGBT worldviews (one teen’s sibling is trans, and the series documents that person’s struggles with coming out); and explicit sexual content and nudity (some of which involves minors and some of which is pornographic material the teens were exposed to on social media).

Greenfield wants to show parents what is actually happening with teens—what they’re being exposed to at such a young age and the content they’re putting out themselves as a result of online peer pressure. And while the series does this effectively, I wouldn’t say that it’s worth watching. Rather, I think it’s more important that parents know what the key takeaways are—to inform you of what might be happening in your own child’s screen-based world—so that you can start a conversation with your teen knowing better where they may be coming from.

So, here are five key takeaways from the series, as well as some questions to ask your teenager that might help foster some healthy conversations.

Key Takeaways of Social Studies—and How Parents Can Respond

  1. Screens aren’t just a primary form of communication for teens, sometimes they’re the only form.

When teens want to communicate with their friends, they’re often limited by how those friends choose to interact with others. If your child’s primary friend group uses an app, such as Snapchat, to send group messages, then he or she may feel isolated if they’re the only one not included. Additionally, as we saw demonstrated in the series, social media can be used professionally, too. Schools use platforms such as Facebook and Instagram to send out important information and reminders to students. One teen in Social Studies used social media to inform his classmates about ongoing parties, which he then developed into a party promotion business. Other students used social media as a sort of digital portfolio to get clients for their photography and DJ ventures. And still others used it to promote podcasts, nonprofits and more.

Ask your teen: What app do your friends primarily use to communicate? What do you think are the pros and cons of using that app? How hard to you think it would be to switch to a non-social media-based communication with them? Does your school send out information via social media? Do you think a business, podcast or other venture can become successful without the help of social media?

  1. Teens use social media not just for communication but for self-discovery.

Teens see social media as a way to figure out what they do and don’t like. It helps them determine what they want to watch, play, read, how to dress, how to act and more. And as much as we, as parents, might hate how algorithms make social media sites so addictive, teens see those curated feeds as a helpful tool since it usually shows them things they’ll enjoy without any extra effort involved. And since they grew up on these platforms, it’s second nature to sift through the comments on posts to find out what their peers and the world at large think about these topics, too.

Ask your teen: How many of your interests and hobbies have come from social media? If you couldn’t find a like-minded community on social media, would it take the joy out of an activity? Has social media influenced your faith based on what you’ve seen posted by other people? Has social media shaped what you believe about important topics of our day, such as racism, environmental causes, sexual identity, etc.?

  1. Teens truly believe they can “be themselves” online.

Many of the teens interviewed considered social media to be a “safe space.” They discussed a feeling of validation when one of their posts would garner a lot of “likes” or “follows.” However, most also expressed feelings of anxiety and depression about posts that didn’t receive as much positive feedback. Girls, especially, felt the need to try out multiple poses, filters and editing styles before uploading a single photo. Even if none of the feedback was negative, some teens would delete posts that didn’t perform as well. And sadly, even when the students recognized how social media was negatively influencing their self-esteem, the lure of the “like” made it difficult for them to quit.

Ask your teen: Do you think your posts depict the real you or an idealized version of you and your life? Would you delete a post if it didn’t get enough positive engagement? Have you ever felt badly about yourself because of a negative comment on one of your posts? Do you believe social media is an accurate measurement of your worth? What does the Bible say about your worth?

  1. It’s not if teens are exposed to sexual content on social media, it’s when.

Some of the students who participated in Social Studies were exposed to pornography (via social media) as young as 8 years old. One girl said she was first asked for “nudes” when she was in just the third grade, and others disclosed explicit messages they received from older men. Searching for or posting explicit content wasn’t a prerequisite either. Using the screen recordings, Greenfield was able to follow how a teen could search for innocuous content, such as how to bake a cake from scratch, and soon be exposed to shots of female bakers in revealing tops. Which then morphed into videos of women wearing increasingly less clothing as they, indeed, taught people how to bake cakes.

Ask your teen: Have you come across content that made you feel uncomfortable on social media? Do you feel comfortable reporting that sort of content or do you simply see it as “normal?” Do you understand why that content can be problematic, even if you don’t personally engage with it? Is there any aspect of this kind of content that is tempting or alluring to you?

  1. This sexualization results in a pressure for teens to look and perform a certain way.

Nearly everyone interviewed in Social Studies said their exposure to sexual content or even to sexually charged comments on nonsexual posts gave them a false perception of what was “normal” in beauty standards and romantic relationships. Many felt pressured to look and act a certain way because of what they saw. Several admitted to engaging in sexual behavior and more extreme sexual activities. More said it impacted how they viewed themselves in negative ways. And some even divulged struggles with eating disorders and suicidal thoughts as a result of what they saw on social media.

Ask your teen: Have you or a friend changed the way you talk, dress or act because of social media? Do you think those changes were mostly positive? Will you stick with that change or will you continue to make micro adjustments as social media ebbs and flows? How will that affect your long-term mental health and sense of identity? What does Jesus say about your identity?

Social Media Will Continue to Exist

Parents, it’s unlikely that social media will just disappear, though it may potentially be banned or limited for younger users. But even if certain bans take effect, where there’s a will, there’s a way. And unfortunately, as history has shown us, when one fad fades out, another just takes its place. So even if social media went away, who’s to say what might take its place and whether that thing would be better or worse for our vulnerable kids.

I hope these insights help you consider what your children are up against a bit better. What we see on our own social media feeds isn’t a reflection of what our teens are seeing. And even if it were, the adolescent mind simply isn’t as mature and equipped to handle those things as the adult mind is.

There’s no single silver bullet to deal with all these issues. That said, teaching our kids about the pros and cons of social media can help them navigate it with greater wisdom and awareness. We certainly won’t have every answer as parents. But cultivating an ongoing conversation with our teens about social media creates a space where they can potentially open up to us when things do go sour. Because sometimes, it’s not about having all the right answers. Sometimes, it’s just about having your kid’s back as they figure out how to navigate new waters.

Ask your teen: Do you think the benefits of social media outweigh the costs both to yourself and to your friends and family? What do you like about social media/what does social media get right? What would you change if you could?

Emily Tsiao

Emily studied film and writing when she was in college. And when she isn’t being way too competitive while playing board games, she enjoys food, sleep, and geeking out with her husband indulging in their “nerdoms,” which is the collective fan cultures of everything they love, such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate and Lord of the Rings.

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