The digital age has come with quite a few challenges of its own, and this is very understandable. Studies are suggesting that children feel miserable because of social media, and that too makes a lot of sense. But you need not despair. Much like there are many options for BTC roulette out there, so are resources to help you navigate the digital age and become a better parent for your children.
As Roulette77 likes to say, most of what you need to know is already out there – all it takes is the courage to explore it, and this works for both when you play roulette or are trying to educate and teach your children healthy habits.
Is Digital Our Enemy?
When we talk about children’s well-being, there are innumerable studies. There have also been calls to restrict the reach of social media for children under certain ages, and this, too, makes a lot of sense.
It’s important, though, to start phrasing the conversation about our family wellbeing and digital education in the right terms. Social media is not evil or harmful by design.
Although they often feature a lot of background noise – materials that you, as a user, are not necessarily interested in – this does not make them useless for a person who wants to pursue their interests.
So, to sum up, digital is not your enemy as a parent, nor is it undermining the well-being of your children. The key difference is in “the how.” How do we use digital services, and do we have the patience as parents to start teaching children about responsible social media use? Here are several things that parents seldom do:
- Have an honest conversation with their children about social media
- Ask what impressed them on social media today and why they think it’s “cool”
- Point out that social media may be taking up way too much of their lives already
These are very simple steps to follow as a parent in guaranteeing your family’s well-being, but they are, of course, involved steps, which means that they take a fair while to accomplish. However, researchers remind that there are benefits to social media, and that parents need to be involved, which is a problem for many parents.
After a long day at work, many parents are just not in the mood anymore. This is normal and understandable, and no, it doesn’t mean that you are a bad parent. Some things, says Roulette77, take time to be developed into sustainable habits, and there is no shame in that whatsoever.
How to Harness Social Media for Our Kids’ Benefit?
Now for the important question – what can you, as a parent, do to ensure that social media is not harmful to children? Calls for bans on media and smartphones are proliferating, but as most parents agree with this in principle, few are prepared to lose their 24/7 communication with their children. But what if there was another way?
| Talk about technology use | You need to talk about the use of technology with your children, focusing on the benefits, but also on why it can be dangerous, addictive, or make them miserable |
| Ask them how they feel | Ask your children how they feel after the use of social media. Often, children say that they are a little depressed after seeing something that they believe can never become a glorified image of an online personality. Tell them that this is just that – a persona, an actor if they will. |
| Time spent on social media is less time for other cool things | Just be honest with your children and explain that if they spend a lot of time on social media, they will miss out on all the other cool stuff that they would be doing. |
| Talk about the adverse impact on social media | Not least, make sure that you are honest about how social media truly affects your children’s health – tell them that if they feel blue or under the weather, it can be partially attributed to social media, and offer them an alternative – play with mom and dad, hang with their friends, do sports, and so on. |
Digital and education?
There is no doubt that there is a huge power in digital when it comes to educating your family. Not just about the use of social media and the potential pitfalls, but also for everyday things that concern education directly.
Digital platforms have made it much easier for younger learners. Just think that Chat GPT now offers a personalized curriculum for children, and that children may actually start being home-schooled by spending time with Chat GPT.
Of course, it’s too early to tell if this is the right way forward, but experts argue that focusing on useful and value-added solutions online may curb youngsters’ appetite for social media and harness it into something more meaningful.
As a tutor, Chat GPT is encouraging and understanding, and it is a pleasant company that youngsters feel at ease with. Of course, this may lead to other problems – the failure to understand that Chat GPT is not a real human, even if its responses are emotional.
Digital education is going to happen, but there is concern about the overlap between social media and such education. These concerns are valid. The truth is – nobody knows just yet how to address them but parents are trying to the best of their ability as is everyone else.