Guiding Your Teen Through Social Media: Tips for Safe and Healthy Use
Social media is a huge part of our world today. It can bring plenty of positives—giving us new ways to connect, learn, create, and share. Alongside these benefits are unfortunately serious challenges like cyberbullying, privacy risks, the constant pressure to compare ourselves to others.
Research continues to highlight the impact social media can have on adolescents' mental and emotional health. Negative experiences or overconsumption can lead to increased anxiety, lower self-worth, and even harmful thoughts.
So, how can you protect your teen in a way that feels supportive and realistic?
You’re here because you care about helping your teen use social media in a healthy way.
We’re here to offer you practical tips on:
Knowing today’s top social platforms for teenagers
Having important conversations about the risks of social media
Setting up privacy settings and monitoring tools
Encouraging healthy online habits, including the benefits of setting “offline times”
Which social media platforms are teens using?
If you’re worried about your teen using a platform like Facebook or BeReal, chances are slim that’s where they are. According to a Pew Research Center study, the majority of 13-17 year-olds say they use:
TikTok: Short and long-form video creation and sharing.
Snapchat: Instant messages that disappear within an allotted time, usually photos or video. Users can also share their location with others.
Instagram: Owned by Meta, recently announced new Teen Accounts with stricter privacy settings.
YouTube: Short and long-form video content with chats in the comments.
Additional platforms to know:
Roblox: Gaming platform that allows for chatting with other users.
Twitch: Live-streaming service, typically of video games.
Reddit: Social news and forum website.
Discord: Voice, video, and text chat platform. Users interact in public and private communities.
Teen girls, in particular, are more likely to use TikTok and Snapchat constantly compared to teen boys (Pew Research Center).
Conversations to have about social media risks
Discuss cyberbullying and online harassment
Cyberbullying is one of the biggest risks teens face online. Make sure your teen knows how to recognize cyberbullying, whether it’s happening to them or someone else, and what to do about it:
Encourage them to speak up: Let them know they can come to you if they experience or witness bullying online. It's important they understand that seeking help is not a sign of weakness.
Report and block offenders: Teach your teen how to report inappropriate behavior and block individuals who harass them. Most platforms have easy-to-use tools for this purpose.
RELATED: How to help your teen deal with cyberbullying
Talk about the peer pressure to compare
Social media is full of carefully curated, filtered images that can lead to unhealthy comparisons, especially for teens. The ZGiRLS Curriculum™ emphasizes the importance of self-worth coming from within, not from external validation.
Help your teen understand that what they sees online doesn’t reflect reality, and that everyone has their own struggles behind the screen.
Ask reflective questions: Encourage your teen to think critically about how they feel after spending time on social media. Are they comparing themselves to others?
Remind them that their value isn’t defined by likes, followers, or comments.
Teach them about privacy and oversharing
Teens may not always understand the long-term consequences of oversharing on social media. Make sure your child knows the importance of keeping certain information private:
Personal details: Remind them not to share sensitive information like their full name, address, school, or phone number, publicly.
Photos and tagging: Encourage them to think before posting photos and tagging friends. Once something is online, it can be difficult to remove it entirely.
Set up privacy settings and monitoring tools
Now that you’ve discussed key topics around using social media, the next step is to help your teen implement important privacy settings. You also have the option to explore monitoring tools to keep an eye on their interactions.
Understand privacy settings
Every platform—whether it’s Instagram, TikTok, or Snapchat—has its own privacy settings that allow users to control who sees their content. Instagram, in particular, has recently rolled out new account settings for teens.
Sit down with your teen and go through these settings together, explaining why they matter. Here are some key points to cover:
Set accounts to private: Encourage your teen to keep their accounts private so only approved followers can see their posts.
Limit location sharing: Many apps share users' locations by default. Ensure your teen understands the risks of revealing their location and turn off location sharing for safety.
Control who can message them: Some platforms allow anyone to send messages. Make sure your teen adjusts settings so only friends or approved contacts can message them.
Use monitoring tools wisely
As a parent, monitoring your teen’s social media use can be tempting, but it’s crucial to strike a balance between oversight and respecting their privacy.
There are many apps and tools available that allow you to track their screen time, view their activities, and set usage limits. However, these tools should be used as part of an open dialogue and not as a means of spying.
Let your teen know if you’ll be using monitoring tools to keep them safe and emphasize that it’s about helping them develop healthy social media habits—not invading their privacy.
Encourage healthy online habits, including digital detoxes
Helping your teen build a healthy relationship with social media starts with showing them how to find balance. It’s not necessarily about cutting out social media entirely, but about helping them create boundaries that make room for real-life connections and experiences.
Set screen time limits
Help your teen set clear and realistic limits on their daily social media use. This can curb endless scrolling, lower stress, and support healthier habits.
Examples could be setting a specific time frame, like 1-2 hours of social media use per day, or designating screen-free times, such as no social media use during meals, homework, or an hour before bedtime.
Most devices and apps offer built-in tools to track and manage screen time—making it easier to stick to these boundaries and stay in control.
Encourage positive online interactions
Social media doesn’t have to be a negative space! Encourage your teen to share uplifting messages, cheer on their friends, and follow accounts that promote kindness, creativity, and personal growth.
You can even help them explore communities that reflect their interests and values, creating a feed that inspires rather than pressures.
At ZGiRLS, we’re all about helping girls build confidence and resilience, both online and offline. Encourage your teen to follow accounts that align with these values—ones that celebrate authenticity and empower them to be their best self.
The power of digital detoxes
Taking an extended break from social media—whether its for an entire day, or even a weekend—can work wonders for your teen’s mental health. Digital detoxes give us the opportunity to recharge and reconnect with the real world around us.
Create offline days: Encourage your teen to take an entire day off from social media every now and then. Designate these as “offline days” to focus on recharging and enjoying offline activities.
You could even make it a family activity by having everyone unplug together!
Replace social media with IRL activities: What sparks your teen’s joy and creativity? You can suggest offline activities like watching a movie, sketching or painting, playing a sport, reading a book, or spending time outside.
By taking longer breaks, your teen can experience the benefits of being fully present, a key to lowering anxiety and increasing gratitude.
Helping your teen navigate social media in a safe and balanced way takes a mix of practical strategies, open communication, and a focus on finding harmony between their online and offline worlds. We realize this might be easier said than done!
But by having honest conversations about potential risks, setting up privacy protections, and encouraging healthy habits, you can empower them to approach social media with more knowledge and intention.
You’re doing great. ZGiRLS is here for your family.
ZGiRLS equips girls aged 11-14 with the mental health tools and resources to build lifelong confidence, resilience, and unwavering self-worth. Learn more about how we help tweens and teens realize their fullest potential.