How involved should parents be in their child's social media account? By:Nice

"Parents looking at Child's phone" By Adobe sparks 2023

Conflicts between children and their parents have persisted for many generations and are likely to continue doing so. The subject of social media has emerged as a new area for conflicts in recent years. Both sides want what is best for the child and are just fighting for positive outcomes. Does this indicate that parents should follow their children’s social media accounts?

Adults and students tend to disagree about the role and impact social media is playing in students’ lives. Many researchers have studied the effect of social media on learning and come to the conclusion that “Too much use of social media can have adverse effects on student's minds, and they may also be exposed to bad posture, eye strain, and physical and mental stress” (Singh) worry that it will damage their child, and it's fair to assume that social media is to blame when they notice negative outcomes like poor grades. “I see why parents see it as a distraction because we are always on it. But they like to use it as a reason why grades are failing, or as a reason why something isn't going like they wanted, which is not true” states Mila Coum.

Every family is different, and different parents have different opinions states Peter Soule, a teacher at ISB and also a father of middle and high school students believes that if there is trust in a parent-child relationship, social media can't be as bad as it seems. Teenagers use social media frequently and it's hard to control in this generation. However, if a parent is aware of what their child is doing and has established rules and boundaries, social media may not be as harmful as it first appears. “I know what my children are watching, I am not going through their accounts, or monitoring it. But I do know what they are doing on it” This leads to the question, should parents monitor their child's social media accounts? Knowing what a child is doing online, is not wrong. But controlling, and monitoring is more than just knowing what they're doing. “I understand why she wants to follow my accounts because they are worried and care about me. But I do feel like there is no area of trust and privacy in my relationship with my mom” states Mila Coum. Many students struggle with this problem. “When she now monitors it, I feel like she's always watching what I’m doing which makes me wanna hide things from her” This is an example of how trust is broken.

At the end of the day, the real issue here is not the involvement of the parent in social media, it's more about trust in the parent-child relationship. If there is trust, involvement is not necessary. If there is no trust, Involvement just makes things worse. Students and parents who consistently built trust ultimately have a healthier relationship.

Citations

“How to Rebuild Your Trust with Your Parents after You’ve Lost It.” Girlslife.com, 2013, www.girlslife.com/life/family/25977/how-to-rebuild-your-parents-trust-after-youve-totally-lost-it. Accessed 28 Apr. 2023.

‌Dr. Lori Fishman. “What Parents Need to Know about Social Media in 2022.” Medium, Medium, 8 Dec. 2021, medium.com/@doctorlorifishman/what-parents-need-to-know-about-social-media-in-2022-4e8eada7b2e. Accessed 28 Apr. 2023.

singh, Ajay. “Positive & Negative Effect of Social Media on Education.” |, default, 27 Jan. 2023, www.theasianschool.net/blog/positive-negative-effect-of-social-media-on-education/#:~:text=Too%20much%20use%20of%20social,and%20physical%20and%20mental%20stress. Accessed 28 Apr. 2023.