We live in a time when we are habitual of sharing even the small moments of our lives on social networking sites. We can’t imagine our lives without Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, etc. It is not wrong to say that social media is a part of our daily lives.
The popularity of these websites is growing among teenagers. What’s more surprising is that kids of age 7-8 years have user profiles on these media platforms. Many times, children’s self-confidence is boosted with the compliments that they receive on social networks. But it’s also true that all that glitters is not gold.
Mrs. Meenal Arora, Founder Director, SHEMROCK & SHEMFORD Futuristic Schools opined that social media attracts ‘new age’ children, but it could also leave negative impressions on their self-confidence. Let’s take a look at how social media affects children.
To begin with, tools are employed to judge the popularity of an individual. For example, likes and shares on Facebook and retweets on Twitter. When likes and comments on pictures, it may affect children’s self-confidence. Children may associate these tools with the importance of their personality.
That’s not all. When children see their friends vacations’ pictures or statuses, they compare themselves with their friends’ achievements. This may results in negativity among children. For example, a child wants to visit a place but is unable to do so due to some reasons. When he sees his friend visiting the sample place through social networks, he is likely to feel sad.
Children use a lot of social media, and they get habitual of using them especially before going to sleep and just after waking up in the morning. As they spend hours online, they get less time to fulfill their hobbies and analyse themselves. This is a big reason behind increasing stress in children. In addition, it is also believed that children who feel shy can converse easily on social networking sites. However, in reality, they may start feeling uneasy talking to people and start to ignore talking to them.
So, the solution is not to restrict children from using social networking sites. Instead, as parents, you should monitor their social media usage and limit their time spent on such platforms. That’s not all as you should also explain to them what people actually share online, these are mere glimpses of their lives. Also, explain to them that comments & likes don’t make much difference to their lives, it is their hard work that makes all the difference. By understanding how social media affects children, you will be able to raise more responsible children.
