Dr Libby: How to protect your teen on Instagram

While your own teenage years may have been spent lounging on inflatable furniture, listening to New Kids On the Block and feeding your Tamagotchi, for teenagers today their attention begins and ends with a Wifi password and what's happening on that damn phone seemingly glued to their hand.

They spend hours scrolling through Instagram accounts, pining over what they often don't realise are just the best parts of people's lives that they've chosen to share.

As a parent, it can be hard to see your teen constantly comparing themselves to someone's filtered persona. And concerning when you realise it may be having a negative impact on your child's self-esteem.

Nutritional Biochemist, Dr Libby Weaver, sat down to chat with us about her new book, The Beauty Guide, in which she addresses the links between social media use and a generation lacking self-confidence.

How social media can hurt your self-confidence

While having a quick scroll on social media can be harmless, Dr Libby believes the increasing amount of time we spend looking at images on our devices skews how we think life is supposed to look. This impact can be particularly pronounced for young people.

"Whether we are aware of it or not, as we scroll past images we eventually construct an idea in our mind of what we are supposed to look like, or what life is supposed to look like.

"If we don't match up to that it can be very dampening to our spirit and to our courage and our confidence."

Research shows there are clear links between social media use and depression in teens.

A recent study by the US National Institute for Mental Health, identified a "strong and significant association between social media use and depression in a sample of US young adults".

The study found that levels of depression increased with the total amount of time spent using social media and the number of visits to social media sites per week.

She also notes the importance transparency plays on social media and the growing need for honest content.

"I think transparency is really important and we can all take steps to be more transparent in what we all share."

As a parent, what can you do?

Rather than leaving your teen to potentially define their worth based on manipulated images and the number of likes they're getting on their social media accounts, Dr Libby advises making an effort to help your child focus on their inner qualities such as courage, kindness and positivity.

A great way to connect these more holistic notions of inner beauty with your children is to utilise them in relation to your child's passions, says Dr Libby.

"Within households, I think it's incredibly important to relay sensible information. And that's so easy for me to say and it's very difficult sometimes to break through to children, but it's connecting to the child with what they care about.

"If, for example, a child cares about being a fantastic rugby player, then teaching them that eating a broad range of foods and not excluding any foods is really important for them to have the strength that they need."

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"So relating health and nutrition to kids in a meaningful way to them can help to break through the listening to what other people are doing and being influenced by that."

As you observe your teen's interactions with social media, you may have noticed their tendency to compare themselves with people they follow online.

It can be hard to watch and, in an effort to counteract negativity, Dr Libby notes it's common for parents to express to their children how handsome, or beautiful, they are.

While she believes if a parent wants to tell their children these things they should certainly do so, she notes making an effort to praise them about their inner traits will help encourage the notion that their true value comes from within.

"Let's comment on a child's courage, on their confidence, on their independence, on their leadership, on their strength, on their kindness. I think we need to teach people to value that just as much as what we see on the outside."