What Measures Can Parents Take to Reduce the Negative Effects from Social Media?

Image from Wix.com

Being educated about online experiences will help reduce the negative effects of social media. How does a parent even know that their teen is feeling this way? It’s a given. Teens will most likely feel this way at some point, so it is important to educate them. “Humans possess a fundamental drive to compare themselves with others (New York Behavioral Health, n.d.).

First, it’s important to know that too much social media use can affect self-esteem, leading to teens taking unnecessary measures such as photoshop, eating disorders, posting revealing pictures, etc. Teens feel pressured to look good all of the time, so they won’t be bullied.

According to Christine Grove, 60% of parents never monitor their teens social media, and only 5% monitor their teens social media all of the time. It is not necessary to be monitoring your child’s social media 24/7. Teens want to feel that they can be trusted, and they should make smart decisions if parents teach them right.

First thing parents should do is learn how to use social media if they don’t already. Grove says, “try to navigate the social world together, rather than acting as a supervisor… so you can make good decisions about social media use together” (Grove, 2017).

Next, it is so important to educate teens about social media. Make sure teens know what they put out will always be there. Someone can screenshot what they post or save it to their phone and send it to other people. What they post will never be deleted completely, so be careful. Let teens know how they act on the internet is how they should act in real life because this is their reputation, and they need to be respectful to everyone. It is mandatory that teens know to not share personal information over the internet. Tell them to not meet anyone from the internet unless with parents’ permission and in a public place. Another key thing to point out is that future employers WILL look at their social media, so teens need to be careful on what they post, and make sure they know that. It is major to have teens trust parents and come to them with anything. Being a helicopter parent will just make teens hide things from their parent. Parents do not need to monitor their teens social media all of the time, but maybe it would be good to have some insight on it and check it every now and then.

Another major aspect is to help teens build a healthy body image. Make sure teens know the pictures they see of everyone being happy and looking perfect, is just a small bit of their lives. The problem is that people only choose to post the positive things in their lives, so of course it is going to look like they are having a good time, all of the time. Don’t let pictures of ‘perfect’ girls affect your teen’s body image. Most of online celebrities’ pictures are photoshopped down to the little details. Let them know that their inside beauty is more important than their outside beauty. If a person has a beautiful personality, theyt are beautiful. Someone can be beautiful and have a horrible personality, that does not make them beautiful.

It is important that parents be a good role model for their teen. Teens pay attention to their parents’ habits, lifestyle, what they eat, what they wear, their attitude, everything. If parents are constantly criticizing their body, their teen will learn to focus on flaws as well instead of their good qualities.

Parents should never say anything bad about their teens body. They may think that already about themselves, and if they hear it from their parent, it will just make the problem worse. Parents should complement their teen instead. Encourage healthy habits, “go for a walk or a bike ride, take a yoga class, or do some yard work. If they’re not inclined to join in, show interest in their activities, even if you can’t participate in them” (Myers, 2015). Myers is right. Do activities with the family. Go for a hike, go get smoothies together, go on family runs. If the parents are not living a healthy lifestyle, do they expect their children to?

It’s important to put their talents over their looks. Focus on how smart they are, their hobbies, sports they are good at. An important thing is to take a social holiday. Jacobson wrote, “if you’re worried that your child is getting too wrapped up in social media, try taking a social holiday”. What Jacobson said is a great idea because he also mentions how parents, as the role model, should take a break as well and “practice what you preach” (Jacobson, 2018).

Parents need to make sure their teen knows they are beautiful, inside and out. Make sure they are educated on social media, and don’t let them compare themselves to other people. Parents need to make sure they advocate their teen on healthy body image. Focus on their teen’s talents and health over their looks. Parents don’t need to disapprove of their teen wanting to look a certain way. Myers says, “Your 15-year-old may not ever look like his favorite professional athlete, but there’s nothing wrong with him working out, playing sports, and striving to be like said athlete, as long as he’s approaching it from a healthy and well-rounded perspective” (2015). Myers makes a good point because a teen is allowed to want to look a certain way, but ONLY if they are doing it healthily with realistic expectations. Another important thing that Myers talks about is make sure teens know how calories and exercise works. Parents should teach them how to think critically about advertisements on diet and exercise. Teens aren’t aware that this type of body is not something that the average person can easily replicate.