Is social media killing our kids?
This week I was interviewed for BBC Scotland, we discussed the fears I have for my children's future with social media and the pressures that young people face when using it.
It’s not uncommon to see young children with their own phone, sometimes the latest models asked for birthdays/Christmas or maybe a hand me down from a family member but its now seen as the norm for children as young as 6 having their own smart phone.
Maybe you succumbed to their constant moaning, the broken record of “but my friends all have them” or maybe you convinced yourself it’s for the child’s own personal safety to have their own mobile.
With given your child their own smart phone at such a young age, you are opening up the unpoliced world of internet and with that, social media access. These two aspects of modern life are now very much seen to be a social norm and we are yet to experience the long term effects of smart phone use and with social media being a massive part of that, are we setting our children up early to a life of phone, social media addiction and a gateway to mental health issues?
My interviewer visited a local school before visiting me, he talked openly with the young pupils and they all used social platforms for long periods, everyday. One girl discussed how she didn't like it but couldn't help but use it. She said it made her life seem " dull" and "she felt "not good enough" after comparing herself daily to others on the sites.
Social media is known to be addictive; it was created that way so that the creators can keep their people interested and make the big bucks. Its can trigger sadness and jealousy that our lives are nothing compared to the wonderfully staged photos and statuses we stroll past daily. We get caught in a fantasy of thinking that if only my life was like that everything would be better. The validation of followers and likes doesn’t mean you are popular and more social, in fact it can mean the exact opposite as we are spending more time online, on our phones we are unknowingly isolating ourselves.
It’s no surprise that suicide rates are raising dramatically amounts preteens and teen in recent years, with many of these children blaming social media and risky Internet sites and blogs for ‘help’ that may promote substance abuse, unsafe sexual practices, or aggressive or self-destructive behaviours.
Molly Russell, 4 from North West London took her own life last November after viewing images of self harm on instagram. Her family stated that she “showed no obvious signs” of mental health issues they were surprised to find she had been viewing images on the popular social media site glamorising anxiety, depression, self-harm and suicide and her father accused Instagram of 'helping to kill her.' Her father, Ian Russell said the algorithms used by Instagram enabled Molly to view more harmful content, possibly contributing to her death.
In another statement Mr Russell said: 'We are very keen to raise awareness of the harmful and disturbing content that is freely available to young people online.
'Not only that, but the social media companies, through their algorithms, expose young people to more and more harmful content, just from one click on one post.
'In the same way that someone who has shown an interest in a particular sport may be shown more and more posts about that sport, the same can be true of topics such as self-harm or suicide.”
Instagram responded Instagram said: 'Our thoughts go out to Molly's family and anyone dealing with the issues raised. We do not allow content that promotes or glorifies eating disorders, self-harm or suicide and work hard to remove it.
'However, for many young people, discussing their mental health journey or connecting with others who have battled similar issues, is an important part of their recovery. ‘This is why we don't remove certain content and instead offer people looking at, or posting it, support when they might need it most.”
Instagram make a great point, I use Instagram to document my own journey of mental health and I follow many who do the same. It has been a great source of support and information when I am having a “down” day. So are these images that are a massive lifeline for many, could there be a negative affect on the children who see them?
The big increases are in girls aged 10 to 14 and 15 to 19. The rates for the younger girls increased by 166% and older group by 62%. Overall poisonings had only increased by 19% over this period, but injury from sharp objects increased by 152%. Notably the vast bulk of the increase in cutting started in 2009. Since then, the rate of cutting by younger girls has increased by 18.8% a year! – (figures according to USA today.)
Young adults and teens are the biggest users of social media and but many view them as not emotionally mature enough to handle some of the pressure that social media has like self image and self esteem. More than ever teens are involved with their friends lives due to having access to 24 hour contact with them with mobile phones, dramas are a plenty and many are finding they are losing control and self-harm is often used as a way of coping.
We need to be involved in what we are allowing our children (and ourselves) to be exposed to. This talk needs to be had — we need to be teaching them about the low points of smart phones and social media. I don’t believe social media is a bad thing; I love it as much as the next person, it has helped me in so many ways but it has at times also affected my mental health. I have a personal account and my mumforce account on Facebook and Instagram. Social media helped me keep in touch when I feel isolate due to my issues and I truly believe so much good has come out of me using it to document my journey. But, like too much of any good thing, it’s easy to become addicted.
The scary reality of 24/7 access to the internet and social apps is children no longer have a safe place, they can even be targeted and attacked at home right under their parents noses. Back in the day, you could rush home from school and avoid the bullies at least until the next day. Social media never shuts down, the comments don’t stop and turning your phone off is sometimes the hardest thing to do when you know the abuse is going on. Like a car crash, you can't now look away.
I have experienced as an adult that social media can be a sad, jealous place, so as a child this can be too much for them emotionally when social statues means life and death.
The increase of suicide among this age range is not down to one single factor, but with social media a high usage of these platforms has been shown to heighten anxiety in the people who use them, especially in teens. The raise of mental health issues in recent years can be linked back to high usage of these smart phones in most cases.
Withholding a smart phone from the child may seem like an obvious solution to the problem but when having a phone is a source of interaction between the modern teens, isolation from not being involved in the online circle can cause its own issues. Social media also enhances the age-old teen concern about being left out, FOMO if you will. They may not go out as much as previous generations but they can have constant engagement, a connection. They will learn very quickly if they are not invited to join in and this will affect them too, adding loneliness and the FOMO.
It’s been suggested that allowing some of these app to be used only on a computer at home may be a solution and openly discussing the issues they may see and face online.
We can help our children by setting digital curfews, taking phones at bedtime so that they aren’t tempted to be online all night and there are a range of APPs that can be used to monitor any dangerous red flags like bullying, sexting or grooming without invading your child’s right to privacy
Social media can be positive in that it offers ways to be in touch and provide support for one another but the online world can turn ugly...fast!
When online, people can feel untouchable. They may say and do thing they wouldn’t do face to face in everyday life. The issues can also grow rapidly as unlike a real situation where maybe only 3 or 4 people are involved, being online others can be quickly get involved resulting in the individual being confronted by a nasty cyber mob.
Kids are always going to get the information they want to get whether it’s online or off. We need to become more proactive at educating them of the dangers of the internet and social media, creating safe boundaries and a place where they are comfortable to discuss any issues they may have.
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