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AMERICAN <br /> V AM PSY'CN^ OLOGICA <br /> usm wow ASSOCIATION <br /> TMEM Now SERVICES,INC. <br /> p <br /> Written Testimony <br /> of <br /> Mitch Prinstein, PhD,ABPP <br /> Chief Science Officer <br /> American Psychological Association <br /> Protecting Our Children Online <br /> Before the U.S. Senate Committee on Judiciary <br /> February 14, 2023 <br /> Chairman Durbin, Ranking Member Graham, and members of the Judiciary Committee, <br /> thank you for the opportunity to testify today on the online dangers facing our children and teens. <br /> I am Dr.Mitch Prinstein,Chief Science Officer at the American Psychological Association(APA). <br /> APA Services, Inc. is the companion organization of the American Psychological Association, <br /> which is the nation's largest scientific and professional nonprofit organization representing the <br /> discipline and profession of psychology, as well as over 146,000 members and affiliates who are <br /> clinicians, researchers, educators, consultants, and students in psychological science. Through the <br /> application of psychological science and practice, our association's mission is to use psychological <br /> science and information to benefit society and improve lives. <br /> I am grateful you have called attention to youth and the online environment. Our youth are <br /> struggling in many ways, largely due to our society's failure to adequately attend to child and <br /> adolescent mental health. <br /> My testimony is broken down into the following sections to help inform the Committee <br /> about the complexities of the challenges before us and to help shape policy solutions: <br /> • Overview pg. 2 <br /> • Online/ Social Media Behaviors and Youth Mental Health pg. 6 <br /> • Psychological Effects of Lost Opportunities While Youth Are Online pg. 17 <br /> 1 <br /> AMORG <br /> APASERVICES.ORG <br /> 750 Furst street,NIIE 202.336.5800 <br /> Advocating for APA rVteYx tiers and psychology Washington,DC 20002-4242 202.336,6123 TDD <br />