Social media is a rapidly evolving platform for younger people to communicate, express themselves and share a variety of content. It has given rise to a new cultural paradigm that drives technology and businesses while changing the way people interact. Social media as a tool is a double-edged sword, while it is beneficial, it can also influence your children in unhealthy ways.
Negative Effects of Social Media on Children:
1. The most well-known downside of social media is the addiction it creates. Constantly checking the news feed of the different social media sites becomes an addictive habit. According to research, it is believed that some of the features such as ‘likes’ and ‘shares’ activate the reward centre in the brain. This reward circuitry is highly sensitive during the adolescence stage of development and may explain why more adolescents gravitate towards social media than adults. These features further influence their moods. Being social creatures, we do value interaction and connection, both of which determine how we think of ourselves. This drives a lot of our behaviour to be focused on social media on a daily basis.
2. Children and adolescents who are addicted to social media end up spending hours each day watching videos, looking at photos and other content posted by their friends and accounts they follow. This addiction disrupts their other important activities such as school work, sports, studies and other pertinent routines. They end up wasting a substantial amount of time every day resulting in decreased marks in school and decreased productivity in general.
3. Research findings suggest that children who spend more than 3 hours a day on social media are twice as likely to suffer from poor mental health. Their preoccupation in a virtual world delays their emotional and social development. The effects on adolescents seem to be much stronger. It could be due to the influence of social comparisons, cyberbullying and decreased person-person interactions.
4. Screen relationships also detract from real-life relationships and building their social skills. This happens as they develop without learning how to read non-verbal cues and facial expressions of people. Social interaction is critical when developing the skills needed to understand other people’s moods and emotions. Hence, children growing up interacting mostly via social media may be less empathic and lack the necessary communication skills, verbally and non-verbally.
5. Social media sites for children can be extremely dangerous and risky. There has been a significant increase in cybercrime and cyberbullying attacks since the rise of social media. Bullying is easier on social media platforms in the form of threatening messages or subtle posts with offensive content directed at a particular person. Younger children can also become the targets of stalkers by predatory individuals who intend to cause harm. Parents should be concerned with how social media effects children as it is easy to gain access to explicit or violent content. Due to this, parents need to closely monitor their child’s overall technology usage.
Positive Effects of Social Media on Children:
1. Spending time online on social networks is important for the younger generation to pick up on the necessary technical skills they will need to navigate their way through the future. It allows them to be competent individuals in a digital age where they can fully participate when needed.
2. Social media is being used by the youth in positive ways that were not thought of before. It is not just a medium for socialising, but children and adolescents have found a new way to express creativity, interact and learn with a broader audience. Students are also using it to form study groups where they can easily and instantaneously share ideas and learning material.
3. Social networking has also changed the way children learn. It has introduced a more peer-based learning method where they are motivated to learn from their peers in the group environment. This provides the opportunity to interact and give feedback to one another which refines their learning process. They are also more enthusiastic to learn from each other than from their parents, for example. Learning can now come from more recent and updated sources and not just their parents or teachers.
4. Children are able to maintain long-term friendships with others by staying in touch with them online even if they are not able to meet one another in person, for example if their friend’s family emigrate.
How Can Parents Help Children Use Social Media Wisely?
Parents always want the best for their children, while also protecting them from the threats of the world. Parents attempt to equip their children to handle a variety of situations, while also attempting to ensure their safety.
Here are some tips from TutorBox:
- Parents can begin by educating their children about the pros and cons of using social media. Initially set boundaries on what sites they can be on and for how long.
- Encourage your children to engage more in actual face-to-face communication with people rather than
online networking. They need to be taught the importance of spending more time in real life friendships and activities.
- Instead of constantly lecturing them about the bad influence of social media on children, encourage other interests or passions they may have. It could be hobbies, sports, volunteering or anything that is not virtual.
- Supervise their online activity. You can teach them to protect themselves from online predators and bullies. Give them enough freedom but ensure that they know you are aware of their online habits.
- Join the social media sites that they are on so that you can be more aware of how it works. If possible, follow them on the site so you can see their posts. However, refrain from commenting or interacting too much with their posts.
- Ensure that they spend just enough time on social media that will make it beneficial for them. You may even allow social media time as a reward or incentive for good behaviour.
- Allow them to understand that counting the number of friends or followers on Facebook or Instagram does not make a difference to who they are nor does it define them in any way.
Just as it is with all things, social media should be used in moderation. You can enjoy its benefits as well as its entertaining perks. Remember, however, to monitor your children (and yourselves) as overindulgence can lead to a number of risks and problems.
