- Social media plays a big role in children's lives and can lead to them having low self-esteem.
- Counseling psychologist suggests that parents should regulate their children's social media use and cut out any negative influence.
- Counseling psychologist say's when used correctly, social media can be advantageous for children and can expose them to an immense amount of positive information.
From wanting the latest shoes because their favourite celebrity was wearing them, to having their first sip of alcohol because their best friend said it's cool, children can easily fall under pressure and be influenced in the wrong way.
In this digital age, social media has taken over children’s lives and they desire nearly everything they see from the people they follow and feel left out if they do not mimic what they see.
The internet can also be dangerous because people get bullied, children can access pornography or spread child pornography, and at times people can get human trafficked using the internet.
“If unregulated, it has the potential of making people compare themselves easily to others,” stated counseling psychologist Siyabonga Ntshangase as he speaks on the dangers of social media.
He further alluded that what is even more dangerous is that we do not know whether what we see on social media is authentic or how the person acquired that certain thing.
For children to separate what they see on social media from reality, parents need to help their children build a good self-esteem, so that they cannot be pressured by what they see.
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“My biggest opinion is regulation. Depending on their age a child shouldn't have unlimited access to social media apps,” stated Siyabonga, advising parents to observe their children’s cellphones and internet use.
“Transparency is also important, parents need to know what children are being exposed to,” he said.
Siyabonga advises that parents should keep tabs on their children’s social media, with gentleness and concern. By doing so, they will be able to warn or cut out anything negative that their children are consuming.
The onus is also on the parents to set a good example. “Parents also need to be aware of what they consume in front of their kids so that they won’t come across as hypocritical,” Siyabonga stated.
Siyabonga further alluded that isolation, drastic behaviour changes, drastic appearance changes, changes in eating patterns for a thinner body, or whenever children act out of the ordinary, might be signs that they have low self-esteem.
However, social media can also be an amazing platform for children. “It’s not all bad, it’s just that we need to be able to know what’s good for us and learn in a safer way,” Siyabonga concluded, highlighting how we can have access to information, learn more about the world, and participate in public conversations positively using social media.
