Parent’s Guide to Social Media Use for Kids

Children waste a lot of time on Facebook, WhatsApp, Snapchat, Twitter, and Instagram. They even interact with strangers there. Should children be allowed on social media? What is the right age to use social media? Social interaction is vital for a child’s healthy development. Social media are online platforms that are used by children and adolescents to connect with friends and family, share media content, and form social networks. Some of the popular platforms include Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Instagram, Skype, YouTube, and Snapchat. In recent time, online multiplayer games, such as PUBG and Clash of Clans, are becoming important social media spaces for young people, where they connect with other gamers and chat while playing.

Advantages of Social Media

• Fosters a sense of connection and belonging especially for shy children who are hesitant to interact with others in person
• Promotes collaborative learning through sharing of online educational material and creativity through graphics and videos showcasing talents and achievements of young people
• Serves as a social support platform for children with chronic diseases and their parents, e.g., with thalassemia, diabetes mellitus, and rare diseases
• Gives a platform for advocacy to young people, e.g., for climate change and child rights

Specific Disadvantages of Social Media

• Exposure to inappropriate content such as por- nographic websites and fake news
• Social media anxiety when the children get anxious and assess their self-worth by the number of “likes” or positive responses that they get on their posts
• Indulging in risky online behavior such as forming friendships with sexual predators
• Cyberbullying that is repeated intentional posting of demeaning and derogatory posts and/or pictures
• Sexting that is posting of sexually explicit material on chatting platforms
• Exposure to targeted advertising and marketing
• Breach of privacy results when the child posts personal details, revealing pictures, details of bank accounts, and credit cards online

Children and young adolescents are not mentally ready-to-use social platforms, as it is difficult for them to analyze the pros and cons of social media. Hence, it is best avoided in this age group. Various platforms have mentioned the permissible age of use as given in the table.

Before allowing children to use a social media platform or a video game, you should familiarize yourselves with it, and analyze whether it is appropriate for age. Also, listen to your children about their reasons for using the social media site and educate them about rules of online safety.