SnapChat, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and even LinkedIn… Today, the digital roads are clogged with traffic from every type of social media outlet imaginable. From followers to influencers, social media has become a part of almost everyone’s daily life. Social media and technology have inserted themselves into our routines with the attraction of getting a break from responsibilities, keeping up with friends and family, and even gaining career benefits.
But it also brings about new challenges of parenting in the social media age.
The generation of children we have now are in a unique situation in that they are the first generation to not know what it is like to live without this technology of social media. They are being born surrounded by this technology, not knowing life any other way. In turn, this puts the parents in a unique situation, too, because we are now the first generation of parents that have to navigate and parent children through all of the advantages and disadvantages of this technology.
It is something I have battled as a parent, and will probably continue to battle until my children are adults. How much is too much? What apps are okay? How do we teach them to be safe and responsible with social media? How do they learn how to use technology without it becoming a safety concern? There are plenty of other questions, too, and I assume many other parents of my generation have similar ones.
My children are still fairly young, but even at this young age, technology and social media have a large presence in their lives. They each have tablets, something I didn’t have until I was an adult, and I have all ready been asked cringe worthy questions like, “Mommy, can I start a YouTube channel?” And I have to admit, I can relate a little bit to my child’s desire to start a Youtube channel. Being a young Youtube star today feels the equivalent of having the desire to be a Disney Channel star when I was younger. I thought those kids were living the life! After growing up, I can see that child acting is not a walk in the park, but as a young girl, seeing all the clothes, hair styles and fun things they got to do, it was certainly appealing. I imagine it is a similar feeling for my daughter when she watches the children on YouTube.
Given this, I have decided that it is nearly impossible to fight the technological pull and appeal of social media.
So, I am going to embrace the technology and try to find a balance. I have decided not to shy away from it, but to do my best so that my kids develop a healthy relationship with social media and technology. Having been born in the last generation to live without this technology, I am still unfamiliar with some of these social media outlets myself, but I will learn the ropes so I can teach and monitor my children on them.
I will teach them how to use these social media sites safely and when the time comes, let them have screen time, but set reasonable limits and show them how it can be a fun and useful tool in life. But as with most things, you have to exercise some caution as well. By doing this, I hope my kids can lead a well-balanced life in this technology driven world.
