Kimberly Kopko

Associate Director of Cornell Cooperative Extension

Kimberly Kopko, senior extension associate in Cornell University's College of Human Ecology, is an expert in child development and parenting as well as family processes.

Kopko says:

“Two recent Surgeon General advisories highlight the adverse effects of social media use on youth development and parenting. Social media use exposes youth to harmful information, including sexual content and bullying and impacts daily routines, including amount of sleep and time spent with parents and peers. Parents struggle to keep up with the changing technology landscape and the lack of effective parental controls. Pew Research data illustrates that parents of adolescents are worried about the harms of social media while at the same time feeling ill-equipped to manage it.

“Regrettably, Surgeon General advisories do not directly impact the daily lives of parents and children. We need to do more. Legislators have proposed laws to protect children from online harm, and in New York, Governor Kathy Hochul is considering measures to ban smartphones from schools; a laudable action as both teachers and education leaders note positive results and teens admit to feeling more focused and less distracted.

“Schools can play a large role in assisting youth access to social media during school hours, which, partnered with parental limits at home, may begin to halt, or perhaps even begin to reverse, the trend of unhealthy effects of social media use on youth development.”