The other day my 8-year old niece handed me her cell phone to take her photo while she was posing. Then she snatched it, glanced at her photo, smiled contentedly, a few clicks and voilà! My tech-savvy 8-year old niece flashed her new Facebook profile photo in my face!
When it comes to social media, it’s wise to put your best face forward. Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and YouTube are examples of social media sites—sites that allow social interaction. Their popularity is undeniable. According to a recent Nielsen poll, internet users spend an average of 5.5 hours a day on social networking sites. From grandparents to teenagers, social media knows no generational limits. It’s a great way to keep up with the bite-sized world of information and with a large circle of acquaintances and meet new people. Engaging in social media enhances communication and socialization. Teens connect daily with friends and classmates. They make new friends, share photos, and exchange ideas. Social media enhances their creativity and allows them to express their individuality. Connecting with a diverse set of people with shared interests develops cultural awareness and engrains in teenagers deeper values such as respect and tolerance. Adolescents and adults can engage in community services, philanthropic activities and local events. Social media creates learning opportunities. Students connect with each other to exchange ideas about assignments and group projects. Many schools use blogs and different educational websites as teaching tools and for extracurricular activities to further reinforce the students’ skills and engage the parents in their kids’ education. Through social media you can access, exchange and discuss health information easily and anonymously. Adolescents with chronic illnesses can access websites through which they can develop supportive networks of people with similar conditions.
Are there downsides to social media? Unfortunately, cyber relationships have replaced the intimate family interaction. It replaced family conversations by countless hours of internet surfing and texting. It affected the children’s ability to nurture their interpersonal relationships and became a major distraction from homework and studying. Using social media can become a risk to teenagers more than most parents realize. Not all parents have the technical abilities or time needed to keep pace with their children in the ever-changing cyberspace. Parents often ignore the fact that not all of these sites are safe environments for youngsters. Most of these sites have a minimum age requirement (usually above 13), and falsifying age (practiced by some parents) is the way to go around it. Parents should be aware of the potential dangers in social media. Cyberbullying (deliberately ridiculing, harassing, and posting false statements on cyber space) which is common among teens can cause lower self-esteem, depression, anxiety, anger, social isolation, and sadly, suicide. Teens who engage in sexting (sex texting) might be convicted of juvenile misdemeanours and school suspensions. Teens’ need for acceptance can cause Facebook depression. Facebook is the new mall where kids go to hang out, except now instead of a glare from the food court, it is a mean post from a cyber-bully or repeatedly running a friend tally to prove one’s popularity or lack thereof. Parents also fear that their kids might share too much information due to lack of privacy awareness and become easily targeted by marketers and fraudsters. Thanks to social media now you have acquaintances at your fingertips, literally! Both husband and wife are culpable of online cheating. It’s so popular because it’s easy, addictive, and many people see that flirting is not cheating. Social media could be the couple’s only and daily getaway from the inevitable dreadful marital silence!
Social networking is so ingrained in teen culture that experts say “Usage needs to be taught not prohibited. While parents worry about the potential perils in social media, it could be equally detrimental to head kids off.”
In order to counteract the negative effects of social media, parents are advised to:
1) Ensure that these sites are age appropriate. 2) Set time limits and instil a family restriction that no social networking can be done until all homework or other chores are completed. 3) Instruct your kids not to give any pertinent information on these sites and explain to them that what goes online stays online. 4) Explain to them the difference between a friend and an acquaintance; networks are more about making acquaintances that are much more superficial social interactions. 5) Talk about empathy and what it would feel like if someone put a mean comment on someone’s space. Teach your child that friends don’t humiliate or make fun of others and that inappropriate comments are not acceptable. Tell them to be very careful when they send or accept friend requests and that it’s not a biggest-collection-of-friends competition. Instruct them not to accept a friend request from someone they don’t know. 6) As a parent, you need to become better educated about the many technologies your kids are using. 7) Set aside time for intimate family interactions like family dinner, exercising together and open conversation time. 8) Encourage face-to-face social interactions as much as possible by involving your children in clubs, sports, and hobbies.
The key to success is to remember that social networking offers a world of positive benefits, and modern technology is here to stay. The use of modern technology can be of great value to the family who includes it within the structure of having intimate interaction on a regular basis.
