Why Is Social Media Important to Teenagers?
Many societies tend to ignore and underestimate teenagers; the people between 13 and 19 years old. Why don’t we take them seriously? Teens just do what we do. They think, feel, and experience like an adult. We might think they are not mature or sensible enough to understand what really matters in life; things such as being on a tight budget, how to make a living, complications of real relationships, overcoming life hardships, etc. But have we ever tried to explain these to them? To make them feel more close to us or fit in the world? Instead of focusing on our own issues, have we ever attempted to understand their seemingly difficult world?
Teenagers need to feel free, to try new things, to make mistakes, to fall and rise again. They require our support, love, and attention. Nothing more. We as adults or parents often tend to control them, keep them occupied with homework and extracurricular activities at school, meddle with their relationships with friends, etc. Bridging the gap between a teenager and a parent gets more difficult this way because we are not giving them what they want. Maybe that’s why they become heavy users of social media. Sometimes their thumbs seem to be glued to their mobile phones to check their feeds and respond to the messages.
Why is social media important to teenagers?
🤳 It caters for their desire to get colossal attention.
🤳 It reduces their feelings of loneliness.
🤳 They get effusive support and praise from their peers.
It’s so disappointing to see teenagers getting stuck in an infinite loop in a way that it is impossible for them to get free. They use social media to kill time; the result of which is to become isolated from family. So, they feel lonely and get carried away with negative thoughts; thoughts that lead to anxiety and depression. To reduce these negative feelings, they go back to the vicious cycle and start to spend excessive time on social media environments.
However, it’s not fair to think that social media is all about filling the empty self for young teens. If we as a parent enlighten our child on the benefits and dangers of social media, we can make sure that he/she does not fall prey to addiction or depression. We can nurture the positive aspects some of which are as below:
✅ Developing strong social skills
✅ Strengthening friendships
✅ Making huge impacts on non-profit campaigns such as preserving the rainforest
✅ Gathering the attention of colleges and future employers
and inform them about the following adverse effects:
✖️ Cyberbullying
✖️ Invasion of privacy
✖️ Misinformation propagation
✖️ Fake accounts
✖️ Unrealistic or harmful sexual behaviors
✖️ Lowering self-esteem (social media is replete with photos of perfect lives, flawless bodies, etc. which leads to having lower self-worth)
as well as below ones which emerge owing to extreme social media use:
✖️ Disrupting sleep patterns
✖️ Gaining weight
✖️ Poor concentration
✖️ Declined cognitive functioning
Below are some social networking tips for parents to help them better treat their children:
🔷 Expand your knowledge about social media
🔷 Engage in more friendly conversations with your kid
🔷 Keep the computer in a common location of your home if he/she is under 13 years old
In a nutshell, always be present to emotionally support your child even if you cannot be physically available. If your kid shows a willingness to open up and talk to you — especially if he/she tends to bottle up their emotions — don’t freak out. Stay as neutral as possible so that he/she feels more secure and let you guide her through different issues including those relevant to social media.
