INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Social media plays a big role in our lives and can consume hours of our day. A recent report from the American Psychological Association says more needs to be done to protect kids from social media.

Dr. Danielle Henderson is a clinical psychologist with Indiana University Health system, and she joined News 8 at Daybreak Saturday to break down key elements from the report.

The report lists a few threats that might not seem like much at face value, including push notifications or endless scrolling. Henderson says that children can feel tied to the notifications.

She says this connection impacts the developing parts of the brain.

“There’s a part of our brain that helps us with a lot of our behaviors, the prefrontal cortex,” she says. That helps us think about behaviors we maybe should inhibit and behaviors we should do. When you’re a teenager, that part of your brain is not developed yet, so, you might have a hard time overriding that impulse to get online and see who’s posted what.”

“It’s hard to do,” she adds. “Sometimes, you can get those feel-good chemicals (when seeing) what’s going on online.”

She also explains how social media makes us “less social,” and how it can further impact our sleep and feelings of depression.

Henderson continues by explaining how these things threaten young minds. “These items capitalize on developing brains,” she says. “More than half of teens have reported at least one symptom of clinical dependency on social media networks.”

When it comes to how parents or guardians can protect their kids, Henderson encourages parents to take control and establish rules around social media and screen time.

Watch the full interview above to learn more.