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SOCIAL MEDIA Ahmed Othman isn't on TikTok and doesn't want to be.He and his younger sister got iPhones when they were in eighth and seventh grade, respectively, but with no social media, just iMessage. Their parents, who are both computer scientists, spent the next year teaching them about social media bombarding them with studies about its effects on teen mental health.

"They really tried to emphasize social media is a tool, but can also be like your worst enemy if you so make it," Othman said. Now 17, Othman credits his parents' deep involvement for what he calls a "healthy relationship" with his phone. That includes staying away from TikTok.



"The algorithm is so potent that I feel like, you know, TikTok might not benefit me," he said. Othman, who's originally from Libya and lives in Massachusetts, is an outlier among his peers, nearly two-thirds of whom are on TikTok either with or without their parents' permission, according to the Pew Research Center. People are also reading.

.. Othman's parents took a middle-ground approach that a growing number of experts say is the most realistic and effective way of teaching children about social media: Rather than an outright ban or allowing free rein, they recommend a slow, deliberate onboarding that gives children the tools and information they need to navigate a digital world.

Few guardrails The harms to children from social media have been well-documented in the two decades since Facebook's launch ushered in a new era in how the .

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