Being a parent in the age of social media is not easy at all. Earlier, it was considered that the "problem of social media" is an issue that concerns teenagers, however, in the last ten years, the boundaries have been moved. Now, children come into contact with social networks from the earliest grades of primary school, have their own mobile phones and tablets, in a word, they are participants in the overall online traffic and digital life.
All this puts new tasks, new worries, and new challenges in front of modern parents, but looking at it all positively, we can say that social media also provides new opportunities in parenting!
Children in the earlier years of their lives and in the first grades of primary school may not have their own accounts on Facebook or Twitter, but they are certainly active on TikTok, use Viber and in various ways get information through various Internet channels.
Parents often do not even notice the moment when their child enters the world of digital information, and that is a really important event and a kind of turning point. A special moment of maturing and growing up.
In this special period, the parent should have an active role, and the most important thing is to find the right approach. The right approach will introduce the child to the world of digital and social media, in such a way that it does not hurt his awareness of privacy and even intimacy, but still allows the parent an active role and insight into everything that happens to the child in the world of social media.
Parents are often focused on the dangers posed by social media and that is fine, but it is very important that parents manage to highlight and introduce children to the positive things that social media and the Internet as a whole offer.
Behavioral patterns are the first task for parents, but also opening wider perceptions in children's thinking and discovering all the ways they can use the Internet to improve their daily lives, knowledge, education, improve and discover their interests and hobbies all the way to establishing relationships and the patterns of everyday communication.
The Parental Advisory :)
The truth, both in the case of smaller children and in the case of teenagers, in particular, is that they do not want to expose their parents and do not want them as part of their "youthful or childish identity and personal image" because it is simply "their world".
Parents who manage to discover the right approach and the way to be present in a good and ok way can consider themselves successful parents in the era of social media. This is by no means an easy task and endeavor.
All this depends in the first place on the relationship between parents and children outside the Internet.
If you have close communication and openness with your children off the Internet, you are more likely to find a way to be present in their online environment in an acceptable and nice way.
No comments, please!
Some of the rules that may not be bad... Never tag your children in photos before agreeing with them. Also, be careful how you present yourself on your profiles, it is of great importance. Pay attention to your profile picture, posts, every detail. Occasionally send them something interesting in the message in the form of a short funny video clip, for no particular reason, and even those that do not expect from you, video clips with a dose of "excessive youthful fun".
Let your birthday greetings on their profiles be short and likable, without too many emotional outbursts and long-listed wishes. Don't reveal to them that you occasionally go to their profile, you pretend to be uninterested.
Do not leave comments below their posts, occasionally like their posts, but very rarely, choose well. That rarely means one "like" every six months, yes - teenagers are sensitive beings. Or even better - never!
On the other hand, children should also know that parents are not insensitive beings. Children, pay digital attention to them in an adequate and cool way!
Of course, children can limit the visibility of their posts, but if you are not aggressive in questioning and influencing their behavior, then it is unlikely that you will be "restricted" or blocked. That’s the goal.
According to certain statistics provided by the popular service Statista, in the United States, almost 60% of mothers use social networks several times a day, and almost 40% of mothers have active communication on social networks with their teenagers.
Also, on average, 40% of parents have an active discussion with their children and teenagers on the topic of behavior on social networks.
On average, American mothers spend about 3 and a half hours a day on the Internet and social networks, and the most popular network among parents is Facebook.
Today, the quality of your parenting is in a way reflected in part in how much you are connected to your children on social networks. Of course, not in its entirety, but in one part for sure.
If you are successfully connected in the online world with your children and have active public communication on social networks, especially with teenagers, then you are a parent for every compliment! You are lucky and smart.
BIU (Bumpy Intelligence Unit)