Social media can be incredible. It is a brilliant way to connect and share material. It can be entertaining, educational and makes the whole world much smaller when you can’t actually be with the people you want to be with in person. It has many advantages. However, we also know that it has disadvantages too. Not all social media is the same and as parents start to support their children through the latter years of primary school and secondary school they need to make themselves familiar with the various types of social media out there. I am not a fan of Snapchat and was relieved to read that young people feel the same. It has come out of some research that it is one of the most worrisome social media platform for young people, alongside Instagram. The research suggests that both Snapchat and Instagram affect mental health because of the content that users are posting on them. It is making them aware of much bigger issues than their own and exposing them to real mental health issues. When thinking about giving your children there are so many things to think about hence guiding your child to smartphone ownership is important.
Snapchat and Instagram Can Have A Serious Effect
Have a look at the article: Instagram & Snapchat worst for children’s mental health: Study. We need to make sure that we are talking to our children if they are using Instagram or Snapchat. They need to be able to share with us what others are posting and saying. We need to help children and teens process what they read and see and protect them from internalising it so much.
Mental health is so important. If Instagram and Snapchat is affecting your child the best thing to do is to come away from using it. As the article says YouTube and Facebook are much more positive places to be. People using Facebook tend to think more about what they are putting on and in terms of content you can choose what you watch.
Would you agree with the article? Have your children experienced more ‘trouble’ with some social media channels than others? I’d love to hear your views.
If you need a hand getting your child to understand social media more and use it effectively please get in touch with me and we can do a one off coaching session.
