Influencer Lilly Singh Warns Parents About the Dangers of Social Media

Published: January 18, 2024

Influencer Lilly Singh Warns Parents About the Dangers of Social Media

By Movieguide® Contributor

Lily Singh believes that social media will always be a negative environment because “arguing” drives the most amount of engagement.

While live recording an episode of the “Lipstick on the Rim” podcast at TheWrap’s 2023 Power Women Summit, Singh warned parents that social media will never reach a point where it will not harm children’s mental health.

“I want to preface by saying I do not have any kids. So take this with a grain of salt, but my belief coming from social media is I don’t think that landscape and climate will ever change and become what parents want it to become,” she said. “[Social Media] forces us to compare ourselves to other people, that gets us in the comments reading an argument and arguing with other people, because that’s how engagement is formed.”

Along with being an often toxic environment, social media harms children in other ways. Movieguide® reported:

Another issue currently plaguing younger generations is incredibly short attention spans. The study found that social media use is directly linked to problems with focus for numerous reasons.

Social media content is quick to consume, teaching children and teens how to take in an idea and move on to the next one quickly, reducing their ability to focus on a topic for longer. Social media also harms their focus as the constant barrage of notifications draws their attention away from their current task.

Reduced attention span was also caused by a reduction in sleep, another issue that the study explored. Social media has the potential to disrupt sleep in three ways: displacing time meant for rest, disrupting circadian rhythms and psychological stimulation, which can make falling asleep more difficult.

Singh, who got her start making content on YouTube and still maintains a large audience on the platform, admitted that though social media is the reason she has her current career, it has also had a negative impact on her understanding of the world. Because audience engagement is crucial, she constantly focuses on creating content.

“I’m going to be honest, social media is why I have a job,” she said. “It’s why I’m sitting here. I started making YouTube videos. I started creating content. I built a community. I built an audience. My brain – I’m both happy and sad to report – thinks in terms of social media, it thinks in terms of content.”

“I’ve been forced to constantly reflect on my relationship with social media, because it is a double-edged sword,” Singh added. “I think it’s a beautiful tool for unity. We’ve seen it accomplish amazing things. I’ve raised so much money for charity, my nonprofit, because of social media, but I’ve also had some of the worst days of my life because of social media.”

The social media star believes that the most important way parents can protect their children from the detriment of social media is to give them the support needed to face negative comments.

“We need to give our kids, and ourselves – let’s be real, not only our kids – the best tools and mindset possible to understand what social media is, Singh said. “Things like, I meditate and journal enough to know that when someone says something to me on social media, it actually has nothing to do with me.”

Movieguide® believes that another way parents can help their children navigate social media is to teach them that their identity is firm in Christ. Furthermore, parents should have regular conversations with their children about what they see on social media to help them navigate the negative and hard things they encounter on these sites.

Movieguide® previously reported:

A new study compiled over ten years of research about the impact of social media to provide a nuanced look at the technology’s impact on the health of young Americans.

The report, conducted by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, found that social media has the potential to cause harm to young users. However, it is not entirely to blame for the epidemic of poor mental health plaguing the country.

“There is much we still don’t know, but our report lays out a clear path forward for both pursuing the biggest unanswered questions about youth health and social media, and taking steps that can minimize the risk of young people using social media now,” said Sandro Galea, chair of the committee behind the report.

“Our recommendations call on social media companies, Congress, federal agencies, and others to make changes that will protect and benefit young people who use social media,” he added.