The New York Times reports a survey in America by a nonprofit research organization called Common Sense Media that, amongst children between the ages of 8 and 18, 38% use social media. 

As parents, it’s time to think over things you do to facilitate online education for your children, control device usage, and quality of content that reaches them. Social media has adverse effects on mental health, and children are no exception. Anxiety disorders, sleeplessness, addiction, and lack of independent thinking are some reasons why children should stay away from all social media platforms.

Addiction

Let children not get glued to the screen for endless hours. An age that fails to judge between right and wrong makes children the victims of social media addiction. Their curiousness grows with every content that comes to their screen. The flow of visuals excites them, which scoops away their otherwise productive or valuable time.

Sleeplessness

What happens to children when they spend long hours on social media is exhaustion and screen fatigue. Sometimes the fatigue alone may be the reason for them to sleep. However, a child who goes to school cannot afford to skip regular sleep hours as it’ll affect their ability to concentrate and stay active. 

Builds Envy

Social media shares activities that your family members, neighbor, and friends are engaging in. It becomes a reason for children also to want more than what they deserve. As long as their reality( what they see on Facebook or Instagram) tells them a different story that they cannot analyze or conclude, unpleasant emotions may build in your child. 

No Face-to-Face Interaction 

Using social media like Facebook and Snapchat is likely to lead to more friends for children. Because they are more active on social media and mobile devices are more than a friend, they rarely need face-to-face communication. In the long run, it can make them aloof amongst their loved ones.

Less  Independent Thinking

As social media generates more same-age or slightly older followers or friends, the content may lack quality and context. Children might consider social media as their go-to person for solutions they are looking for, thereby deteriorating their capacity to think by themselves.

Prey to Cyber Threats

Children consider setting profiles to ‘private’ as safe. Though in reality, people keen to attack can follow and hack the private accounts of your child for money, which can sometimes be life-threatening too. As parents, this is the last thing you want your child to go through. 

The world needs bright minds for brighter solutions, and parents should guide children to take a better path outside their gadgets and connections to feel the air they breathe and the grass they touch.