Awareness in Social Media

Your son is turning 15 in a few weeks and approaches you about getting his driver’s permit.  You hand over the keys and say, “here son, go practice with my car. I’m sure you know what to do.” That seems like the logical thing to do, right? Of course not. That would be quite foolish to expect an inexperienced 15-year-old driver to be able to know how to balance between braking and accelerating, who has the right of way at an intersection, how to naturally merge into traffic on the freeway, or even what kind of gasoline the car needs. Parents, driver’s education teachers, and the laws of the land help teach teenagers the proper way to operate a vehicle (Simons-Morton, Ouimet, & Catalano, 2008). A smartphone is not quite the same as a car, but handing one over to your child should come with some training, education, and rules. This blog has discussed a few of the potential risks that come from poor use of mobile media devices and social media platforms. It has been scie...

This blog is designed to educate parents of adolescents about social media. This video will give you ideas and tools to be a better steward so that your child doesn’t fall into a potential negative trap of social media.  The 3 areas of focus that will be covered are communication, setting media standards, and modeling good behavior. Struggling to know what to talk about around the dinner table?  Click here for 50 Family Dinner Conversation Starters. Challenge   This week, have at least one meal as a family without any media devices.  This includes smart phones, iPads, TV etc Plan a day to hold a family meeting. If this is your first time holding a family meeting, make the meeting about future family meetings. Discuss things like what day of the week works best, how the format should go, and potential topics to be discussed.     Reader Survey References Ballard, M. R. (2016, May)....

S ocial media has many benefits which will be highlighted in this article.  Previous articles on this blog have brought focus to the potential risks that come from social media use. Another potential risk is highlighted in the cycle below. This cycle demonstrates how social media can affect adolescent mental health. Being a part of social media isn’t bad, but the potential for social media to turn into a downward spiral is real for adolescents.  FOMO, or the fear of missing out, has become a common acronym among social media users.  It often leads to a sense of vulnerability which leads one back to social media. Without awareness, this cycle can be repetitious in your child’s life.  Benefits of Social Media  Social media provides opportunities to make better connections with others. Human connection is something we all seek. Adolescents have contact with their peers at least 5 days a week through school, extracurricular activities, and their ...

This week a video has been created that will focus on how social media may play a role in an adolescent’s perception of their body image. Statistics will be discussed, body image will be defined, and ideas will be offered to improve the discussion in your home about promoting positive body image.  After you view the video, look below for this week’s challenge and survey. Also, we invite you to engage in the discussion by leaving a comment below. Challenge: How will you and your family be more aware of social media? Do you know what social media platforms your child uses?  Take notice of discussions in your home on potential negative body talk and make corrections where needed. Promote more positive body talk by being the example. READER SURVEY References Bleakley, A., Ellithorpe, M., & Romer, D. (2016). The role of parents in problematic internet use among US adolescents. Media and Communication, 4 (3), 24. doi:10.176...

What happened to Maddie, a mom of two boys, one afternoon has no doubt happened to countless other parents across the country.  Maddie's computer was out of juice, so she hopped on her 15-year-old son's laptop. She looked at the history of something she was working on and then, bam. There were links to 40 porn sites with topics too racy for me to print.  "I was freaking out," said Maddie, whose name has been changed to protect her privacy and her son's.  She immediately did something she has never done before during her nearly two decades as a parent: called her husband out of an extremely important client meeting.  "I thought, 'Oh, my God, we need to talk about this,' " Maddie said. "There's nothing I can't handle with the kids. ... This I cannot handle," she added, remembering how she felt at the time. (Wallace, 2015) With today’s growing technology of iPad’s, notebooks, and smartphones, your child could be just a cli...