How Social Media Affects Your Child’s Development
Social media has became an integral part of modern day life which shapes how we communicate, connect and share information. The modern-day social media accumulates platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTa where individuals can post anything online at any given time throughout the world. While social media offers much good that includes easier communication access to information, there’s also come potential dangers – and kids have proven particularly susceptible.
The implications of social media on children are no longer a question but instead quite solidly established. With children spending more time online now than ever before, there’s copious amounts of worry about why this could potentially have adverse affects; on their mental health and well-being.
Negative Effects:
1. Cyberbullying and Harassment
Parent raising children in the digital era is coming to an end and calls for serious concern as cyber bullying is fast emerging as a major issue for parents. The advent of the Internet has advanced cyber bullying because bullies have been able to hide behind anonymous profiles and attack their victims with no consequences whatsoever. This can potentially cripple a kid’s mental health and therefore anxiety, depression and even lead to a child committing suicide.
There are certain strategies that Parents must understand about cyber-bullyingness and engage with themselves so that children are protected from harassment. Foremost among these involves being vigilant about bullying through making sure one’s privacy settings are optimal when browsing online. Secondly, monitoring child’s online activity should be a regular agenda layout especially where they spend time while at school or home. Thirdly, forewarning kids on how to file out sexual expressions arising from lascivious posts on social media accounts. Lastly, forging open communicating lines immediately with children.
Overall, parents will realize that Social Media is both good but bad in relationship to a child. Being vigilant armed with knowledge on Cyber Bullyingness will help ensure happiness forthwith by safeguarding any grounded experience kids posses.
2. Exposure to Inappropriate Content
Exposure to inappropriate content on social media and the impacts on children is an issue of great concern. Children are very easily exposed to explicit or violent content, and this could have much wider effects upon emotional and psychological state. Constant salvo of such content may transform the child into virtual numbness, thus resulting in aggressive behavior. In addition, exposure to inappropriate material can also affect a child’s self-confidence and body image in a negative manner. Social media often promotes unrealistic beauty standards that only make a child feel inferior about their own appearance. Such ongoing exposure may result in low self-belief and low self-esteem, depression, anxiety and eating disorder.
Parents should be quite alert regarding online activity of their children and take concrete steps towards depriving them from inappropriate material. Actually, setting parental controls, limiting monitor violence time, having open communication with your youth about what they observe online are admirable precautions of keeping your youngster safe as he/she experiences digital world.
3. Decreased Face-to-Face Interaction
The prevalence of social media has led to lesser face-to-face interaction among children. Children are spending longer periods engaging on electronic devices as opposed to having conversations with their peers or spending time in play settings. Reduction of lack of children’s face-to-face interactions leads to improper communication as well as poor competencies in communicating/social skills. With studies indicating that excessive use of technology like social networks causes feelings of isolation for the child, This induces dependency on digital communication, affecting reading nonverbal cues as well as body language observed in real life interactions. Instances where filters and editing tools are employed on social media platforms can induce unrealistic beauty standards, whereby the child is potentially damaging his/her own self-esteem and body image.
It’s important for parents to monitor their child’s screen time and encourage the use of face-to-face activities such as joining a sports team or club; having regular play dates with friends or even going outdoors for fresh air. By being into our child’s development, we will help them build strong communication skills and therefore form human relations irrespective of how normal life appears from an instant forward from computer/smart phone screens.
4. Sleep Deprivation
Many children, teenagers and adults suffer from sleep deprivation, mostly those who spend much of their time online for social media and electronic devices like laptops, tablets or phone screens with LED backlights. Several experiments have tested the effects of blue light emitted by these devices on the biological clock in humans, where it has been found to interfere with this natural process altogether, substantially delaying alertness before bedtime and disrupting disrupted menstrual cycles and seasonal affective disorder
Melatonin influences how long one sleeps and has regulatory functions in regard to their sleep-wake cycles. Consequently, spending too much time on phones or tablets could make it difficult for an individual to fall asleep or stay asleep at night resulting in tiredness and fatigue during the day.
In addition, excessive use of cellphones and screens before bedtime often leads to decreased physical activity thereby disrupting normal patterns of sleeping, which put additional pressure on individuals suffering from insomnia as chronic causes of cognitive disorders (Krakow et al., 2012). Accordingly, problems related to sleep quality are merely aggravated as sleepiness caused by reduced sleep duration disrupts proper phases of sleep. Moreover, rapidly changing exposure conditions in relation to specific stages of sleep induce amounts of substance P promoting wakefulness (Maren et al., 2008).
As such, when trying to address work-related insomnia, parents cannot neglect preoccupying factors largely responsible for shaping nocturnal behaviors. An individual’s bedroom illumination level, ambient temperature control, age, proportion as well as sexual orientation must be taken into consideration as they contribute to dictating someone’s current sleeping situation. Likewise, lack of exercise daily and various environmental irritants present throughout the day frequently dousing individuals battling poor sleep can significantly influence nighttime routines ultimately affecting adult growth and development aspirations.
Positive Effects:
1. Networking and Collaboration Opportunities
The networking and collaboration opportunities today are very essential-oriented, especially with the advent of social media. The networking platforms have already opened doors to other places in the world where people can connect and collaborate with each other. Parents can make use of these networking chances to get acquainted with other parents who are also facing issues with children’s development while on a positive note. Once they get exposed to parenting groups through Facebook or LinkedIn forum, they get an opportunity to ask questions as well as share their experiences with others. Through such organized groups, they acquire ample advice from various parents regarding beliefs and principles underpinning childrearing practices.
Collaboration opportunities are abundant on social media channels. Parents for instance, join activities that enhance parenting qualities mainly via collaboration. They can find like-minded individuals and teams who share common interest and values with them. The community project or support group could address any issue that is affecting children’s development in a negative manner (Kamilic, 2010). This might be organizing workshops for training purposes pertaining to child safety. It could simply mean coming up with educational resources for children with special needs. Parents gain meaningful relationships mostly working towards fulfilling common goals and benefiting along the line.
2. Access to Information and Resources
Access to information and resources is critical aspect of child development in the digital age. Social media channels provide almost unlimited varieties of educational material and avenues for children to discover about various interests and topics. With this easy access come challenges or risks to their security when encountered with unsuitable content or online stalkers/predators.
Parents need to make sure that kids have valid and reliable sources of knowledge from where they can learn more on the stated topic while monitoring their activities over social media platforms. Parents may manage to check their children’s posts by setting parental controls on devices that block access to specific websites or applications. Furthermore, parents develop an understanding on how one should identify credible sources and safe interactions with those that are strangers behind a computer screen.
3. Creativity and Self-expression through Opportunities
Social media provides children with various opportunities to be expressive of their self. They can share their paintings, photos, and written work on platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. These channels help them express themselves by showing off their talent. Furthermore, social media allows children to explore areas of interest they would not be able to access personally in the given setting. For example, if a child wants more information about fashion design but is unable to access classes or workshops, he/she could follow popular designers on social media or join online groups where he/she will not only learn from other users who have already accessed that resource, but also get feedback from peers and other users.
Moderation is Key:
Moderation is important. Social media can have positive outcomes for kids’ development, such as communication between friends through the platform, quick access to educational resources and content, and creative expression. However, excessive use of social media is not always beneficial. Excessive use has been shown to increase children’s anxiety and depression. Moreover, inadequate sleep quality connected with excessive social media use has also been observed by researchers. Therefore, minimal effects only need to be measured and proper actions may need to be instituted to prevent these negative effects.
Parents should help their kids shift participation in spontaneous interactive activities outside of social media. A simple way to do this would be as follows: Encourage sports/activities that have active components to promote physical activity (like sports), allow untainted face-to-face interaction with peers from various age groups, and set limits around screen time and content accessed via social media.
Conclusion:
Therefore, social media certainly has altered our manner of communicating and dealing with each other. While producing advantages by facilitating connections between people, and making it easier for individuals to express themselves freely, social media also spreads harmful effects on modern minds such as mental health problems and misinformation. Therefore, we need not worry about the disadvantages that arise from the use of social media and rather make efforts whereby we can get something out of the service without too many experiences of its drawbacks in everyday life. Generally speaking, social media should be used mindfully regarding its pervasiveness in contemporary society as an enabler of one’s desires and preference while still maintaining some balance and control over usage.
