Teaching Your Child to Use Social Media Responsibly

6th October 2022 Family

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Social media can be both good and bad for society. While it offers new opportunities for work and socialising, there’s a dark side that we must acknowledge and that’s the effect that it can have on children. Currently, most of the platforms prohibit children under the age of 13 signing up. At this young age, children are highly impressionable and there are important lessons that should be taught for their safety. We’ve included some of these below.

Photo by Dylan Gillis on Unsplash

Set Timers

As adults, we know how hard it can be to put your phone or tablet down. Social media apps have us hooked and sometimes we need more intervention. Thanks to the manufacturers, we have the option to set timers and bans to restrict screen time for certain apps and it can help children to spend their free time more productively. The same can be applied to gaming devices and laptops.

Be More Social

You can also teach your child by setting a good example. There’s no point of lecturing your child and banning their apps if you’re only going to do the same. It can send mixed messages and undermine your teachings. You can make it a family effort and look for ways to be more social without relying on social media, like by going out to visit family and friends etc.

Editing

Image editing is rife on these social media apps. Children are exposed to near-perfect images all the time which can affect their self-esteem and body image. Making them aware of this can help them to accept their natural beauty and not compare themselves to unrealistic, false standards.

We hope that you found this article helpful. If you would like more parental advice and guidance like this, feel free to take a look at our other blog posts.