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Parents Need to Know: App logos can be deceiving. It is vital to be hyperaware of what kids are doing and what they’re into.
Texting Apps:
- GroupMe
- Kik
- Discord-started as a place for gamers. Creates a fantasy world.
Photo & Video Apps
- TikTok
- Tumblr
- House Party
- Live.Me
- Snapchat
- Whisper-social confessional app
- Monkey- Randomly matched with strangers
- MeetMe-Match to “secretly admire” others
- Omegle- Puts 2 strangers together to chat
Potential Harms of Unfiltered Internet Access
Peer Pressure:
- 75% have felt pressure to drink or use drugs due to seeing others post about it
- Online Challenges- rewards outrageous behavior. The more outrageous, the bigger the bragging rights.
- List of popular challenges: https://vlogtribe.com/youtube-challenges/
Lowered Self Esteem
- Comparison trap for kids and teens
- Regular use causes social comparisons that lead to reduced self esteem
- Feels like they’re missing out due to seeing other people’s highlight reels.
- 1 in 4 teens report victim of cyberbullying
- Those who have been cyberbullied are more likely to cyberbully others
- 50% of teens have witnessed
- Huge impact on how you feel about yourself resulting in self-harm, panic attacks, depression and even suicide in some cases.
- Drug buying over Snapchat
- Teens who overly use popular social media on a regular basis are more likely to drink or use drugs.
- Social media is a catalyst to many mental health problems that can lead to substance abuse
- Link to popular drugs chart: https://nida.nih.gov/research-topics/commonly-used-drugs-charts
Depression & Anxiety
- Constant overstimulation of social networking shifts the nervous system into fight or flight mode
- Makes ADHD, depression, ODD and anxiety worse
- Sextortion: predator convinces child to send them explicit images and then blackmails them to send more.
- 500, 000 online predators active each day on multiple profiles
- Over 750,000 registered offenders in U. S.
- Child Predator Experiment Video: https://youtu.be/6jMhMVEjEQg
- Drug buying over Snapchat
- Teens who overly use popular social media on a regular basis are more likely to drink or use drugs.
- Social media is a catalyst to many mental health problems that can lead to substance abuse
- Link to popular drugs chart: https://nida.nih.gov/research-topics/commonly-used-drugs-charts
Online Gaming Dangers
- Cyberbullying through private chat
- Grown adults trash talking kids and vice versa.
- Roblox recently created a violent version mimicking Squid Games
- Keep in shared family spaces-should not be allowed to keep in their rooms alone
- Consider having them play over speakers to hear what is going on
What to Do as a Parent:
- Educate yourself
- Set reasonable limits
- Explain what’s not ok
- Monitor accounts and follow through
- Encourage some face-to-face communication with friends
- Talk about social media
- There are links and videos out there that inform of trending challenges
Resource Links
https://smartsocial.com/social-media-statistics/
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/videos/social-media-mental-health-four-tips-for-kids
https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/teen-addiction/related/social-media-impact/
https://www.helpguide.org/articles/mental-health/social-media-and-mental-health.htm
https://smartsocial.com/parental-control-software
https://vlogtribe.com/youtube-challenges/
https://nida.nih.gov/research-topics/commonly-used-drugs-charts