Your children and social media!

Remarkably, wherever you go or look around you, you see that most children and adolescents spend more time than ever using social media, as the number of hours they spend on the Internet has increased sharply during the last period, especially in the wave of the pandemic previously!

These increases are likely a reflection of the difficulties families have experienced in school and social interaction throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. But in real, my concern is a boom in social media use among children or teens, even though these platforms require users to be at least thirteen due to a law banning companies from collecting data from children.

On the other hand, some may not be surprised by this, especially since such raised emerged during the pandemic and from there children resorted to screens for entertainment and communication with friends, as many of them did not have school or personal activities. Perhaps what worries me at this point is the huge number of children who use social media when they are their age, which is frightening – if I may say – in the long run, especially since these social media applications are not designed primarily for children!

True, the increase in platform usage was not necessarily a cause for concern in and of itself. For instance, when children used the platforms to connect with friends during a pandemic, that was probably a good thing. But what I would like to point out here is that the use was not mainly to keep in touch with peers. So it is the duty of parents to take into account that most teens, for example, spend more hours watching videos and perhaps more hours playing, therefore only a few minutes a day when they video chat with friends!

Here’s a fact. It’s important to consider what kids don’t do when they spend a lot of time on screens and those platforms. Surely we should worry if it’s replacing activities, such as sleep, family time and housework for instance, So this is certainly a real concern to look at!

As such, parents may now want to sit down with their children and create a technical agreement -if I may say so -, outlining various details including when and where children can use the platforms and software and for how long? Perhaps most importantly, parents should have regular conversations with their children about social media. I believe that parents should also explain the importance of privacy and that what children share will reflect on them and their reputation.

In the end, parents should try to use platforms to communicate with their children. When adults use platforms with their children, they have an opportunity to share their values and expectations. So, just as you take care of them while you’re in any picnic or travel , you have to protect them while they’re swimming on social media!

Dr. Yousuf Ali Al mulla is a physician, medical innovator and a writer.