Is My Child Ready for Social Media?
Written by: Natalie Khouchaba
More often than not, young people are active on social media. Whether that be on Instagram, Snapchat, or YouTube, chances are your child has been active on one of these platforms. It is common for people to overlook YouTube as a form of social media and should be treated as such. With those platforms on the Internet, how do you know when your child is ready to join the world of social media?
According to Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA), children should not have a social media account until the age of 13. Despite this, there are young individuals who alter their birth year to bypass these laws and regulations when it comes to creating a social media account. Due to this, it is important to not only be knowledgeable of when your child is ready for social media, but when they are ready for a smart device in general.
We recommend parents and caregivers to wait as long as possible before allowing their child to have access to social media due to the lowered maturity levels, potentially not being able to grasp the concept of being deceived, over sharing personal information with strangers online, among other concerns.
Some risks to keep in mind when allowing children to create a social media account:
- Cyberbullying is prevalent in every generation: cyberbullying is something that can happen at any age, to any individual. However, it has been found that it is more common in younger individuals. Cyberbullying can also create severe psychosocial results such as anxiety, suicidal ideation, depression, and social isolation.
- Privacy concerns: younger children tend to be more trusting. Due to this, there is the risk of children oversharing online with others who they believe to be peers. While these children are on YouTube, Discord, or even Fortnite, they are exposed to live unmoderated chats among thousands of others ranging from any age group. In turn, this runs the risk of the child being exposed to someone of an older age asking for private information, while the child believes they are talking to someone of a similar age. With this, there are “private chats.” Children tend to believe that since their chat is private, that means it must be safe.
- There could be a disconnect between parents/caregivers and children when it comes to social media platforms: while there are parents and caregivers who are well versed in the different social media platforms that are available, there are others who are not. With the abundance of platforms floating around, it is nearly impossible to know all the ins and outs. As a result of this, the disconnect between the adult and the child could lead to risks of the child engaging in activity online that the parent/caregiver is none the wiser to.
- Feeling left out: One of the largest drawbacks to letting your child be on social media is FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). Ask yourself, how does my child cope with seeing their friends
Taking the aforementioned into consideration, there are some pros to allowing your child to have a social media presence. Such as, being able to stay connected with their real-life friends, talk to their classmates about homework or upcoming projects, or talk to family. With anything available, there are always potential risks.
Having an open and healthy line of communication between you and your child is the first step in having safe online activities. Once your child is at least 13 years old, has shown they can come to you when they feel unsafe online and show maturity within their peer relationships, they may be ready to have a social media account. It is important to always remain vigilant of differences in behavior, such as your child becoming depressed, withdrawn, secretive, or anxious. In doing so, you can tackle potential situations at the beginning rather than allowing them to fester.
If you believe your child is experiencing any of the previously mentioned concerns or you would like to schedule a meeting to set up phone rules with you and your child, please contact us at 402-505-3993, contact@smartgensociety.org, or visit us at www.smartgensociety.org.
Sources:
Kids & Social Media | Pediatric Health Care Alliance P.A. (pedialliance.com)
Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (“COPPA”) | Federal Trade Commission (ftc.gov)
Exploring the Dangers of Social Media for Children (care.com)
