Counselor advises limits to social media use as study pinpoints possible dangers

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Social media is everywhere, and likely not surprising to parents, teenagers are some of the biggest consumers.

A new study shows social media is having a negative impact on teenagers’ long-term memory and, ultimately, their test scores.

Mark Baumgartner, a licensed professional counselor and Vice President of Outpatient Operations at The Meadows Behavioral Healthcare , joined Good Morning Arizona on Tuesday to talk about what the study says.

The study was recently released in the Journal of the American Medical Association . It shows scrolling on social media resulted in lower scores for memory and for vocabulary and reading tests.

“The concern here is that the brain is super vulnerable because it’s developing in childhood and adolescence, and if the brain’s o