Wake Co. parents praise Instagram teen restrictions, study shows social media impacts on the brain

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Tougher restrictions are coming for teen users on Instagram as a new study is highlighting the impact of social media on teen brain function.

Instagram announced a new PG-13 content setting for teens - similar to content ratings for movies - restricting posts containing violence, nudity, or graphic language.

Marie Dexter has two teens in Wake County schools. She's praising the move by Instagram.

"I think that's fabulous because our world right now is very focused on negative stuff and social media has been a big contributor to that," she said. "And I feel like emphasizing the positive things about celebrating our wins in this world will be a great thing for our kids."

Dr. Mitch Prinstein is the co-director of the UNC Chapel Hill Winston Center on Technology and Brain Development.

He says the move by Instagram is just the beginning of what changes need to take place on social media to make it safer for children and teens.

"We're finding that kids are reporting a remarkable amount of stress they get with every notification, with the number of likes they get, with the kinds of comments they get," he said.

Dexter says she and other parents worry about how much violence and negativity their kids can see on social media.

"Social media tends to feed into that anxiety because they're throwing information at you all the time," she said. "And a lot of times it's negative information."

The move by Instagram comes after a study was published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The study is highlighting a concerning trend between social media use and brain development.

"We're seeing that kids who are exposed to social media are showing declines or delays in their cognitive functioning," said Prinstein.

Prinstein says research at the Winston Center is also finding that prolonged social media use, starting at a young age, is impacting the development of various parts of the brain.

"They're showing a hyper-responsivity in the area of the brain that makes them really, really interested in feedback and attention from peers, and we're seeing less development of the area of the brain that's kind of the brain's brakes," he said.

The Social Institute Founder & CEO Laura Tierney says parents need to take proactive steps now to teach safe social media habits to their children.

"Set in-app time limits," she said. "You could also turn on something called Focus Mode during homework, and you could also encourage them to have scroll-free study time."

Tierney also says the key is to ease kids into technology, and to have conversations with teens about their phone usage to make sure they're practicing healthy habits.