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Central Georgia doctor weighs in as surgeon general warns of kids' social media use

The advisory says too much time coupled with harmful content could interfere with kids' sleep or exercise.

MACON, Ga. — This summer, watch your kids' social media screen time and which sites they're spending time on. That's the warning recently released by the U.S. Surgeon General. The advisory says too much time coupled with harmful content could interfere with kids' sleep or exercise.

Too much social media use could lead to symptoms like anxiety, depression, or low self-esteem. Social media has posed as a concern for parents for a while now. Lucille Williams has 12 grandchildren.

"Social media, it plays a great impact on the violence and the behavior that the kids are displaying now," Williams said.

She says she worries about what they're looking at online.

"That's why a lot of this violence is out here now. They see it so much on TV and the different stuff that rappers are saying and doing, and they want to be like those people," said Williams.

She remembers what it was like when she was growing up.

"We used to go to the playground and play and have fun, not sit in the house with a phone all day," she said.

But now with violence on social media, "You got 13- and 14-year-old kids with guns," Williams said.

Doctor Christopher Denham is a resident psychiatrist at Piedmont Macon. He says the pandemic magnified the problem. Denham offers some tips to parents such as putting filters on kids' phones and limiting time your child can spend on social media.

"Doing things like outdoor activities, reading. It boils down to connection -- kids really want to connect with their parents. Social media is just a distraction," Denham said.

Williams makes sure her grandchildren enjoy the world outside of their phones. "When they come to my house, we are having fun. Sometimes, their phones be on charge, and they don't even know where they are," she said.

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, research shows that kids who spend more than three hours per day on social media face double the risk of experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Denham recommends VidAngel that lets you block obscene content based on your preferences on profanity, sexual situations, and graphic violence.

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