Jillian Michaels Urges Parents to Combat 'Addictive' Social Media Grip on Children

Fitness trainer and media personality Jillian Michaels is calling on parents to actively combat the influence of social media on children, citing the platforms' allegedly addictive algorithms and content. Michaels made these remarks while promoting her new Fox Nation documentary, "Toxic 2: A Generation on the Brink."

Michaels advised parents to implement strict measures, including utilizing parental controls, confiscating phones at night, limiting accessible websites, and maintaining open communication about online content. "You have to do everything you can," Michaels stated, emphasizing the need for parents to be realistic about their children's online activities when not under direct supervision.

"This is the part where we also have to continue putting pressure on the social media companies to make their algorithms safer for kids," she said. "They created an addictive product, they know it, and we need to keep the pressure on."

In the documentary, Michaels explores the risks modern children face, such as excessive screen time, mental health challenges, and over-medicalization. She suggests that many parents underestimate the scale of these issues, with fragile young bodies and minds being targeted from an early age. The film features expert Jean Twenge, a psychology researcher who posits that early smartphone adoption correlates with a higher likelihood of mental health problems later in life. Twenge cited studies indicating that heavy social media users are approximately twice as likely to experience depression compared to non-users, with other research showing a 40% to 50% increase in depression risk.

Twenge also noted that younger generations, like Gen Z and Gen Alpha, are aware of the negative impacts, coining terms such as "chronically online" and "brain rot" to describe the detrimental effects on attention span and focus.

Social media companies have been under increasing scrutiny regarding the potential effects of their platforms. In August, Meta agreed to pay up to $17.1 billion and implement restrictions on teen accounts to settle claims that Facebook and Instagram were designed to be addictive for children and that the company misled the public about platform safety, though Meta denied the allegations.

"Toxic 2: A Generation on the Brink" is now available for streaming on Fox Nation.