Unplugged.

Let's be honest. Unless you have been under a rock or have purposely chosen to disconnect from the internet, social media plays a significant role in our day-to-day life activities. You go to a popular restaurant with an amazing food presentation... *click* you take a picture to share your experience with your Facebook friends. Your child earned an award for something great. Of course, you want to showcase it and tell your followers how proud you are of them. It has become so second nature.

Social media offers an atmosphere for connectivity, creativity and building relationships with like-minded people. However, where there are positives, there are also negatives.

Since the beginning of the rise in popularity of the internet, many parents have feared about the use of their children, especially teens. There are been many studies that have linked social media to things such as an increase in depression in teens. In this blog, we will explore the social media world of teens and understand ways socials can be used in a healthy way to decrease the negative effects on adolescents.

Socials can have a profound positive and negative impact on teens' everyday lives. With everything in life, there has to be a balance to help understand the power that that something holds. In this case, it is the internet. 

Teenagers can use social media to help them out with things like research in school, finding new opportunities in their education, starting projects, and self-expression. However, there are also pitfalls. Too much use of social platforms have been tied to mental health problem like depression, low self-esteem and anxiety. Cyberbullying is another negative teenagers are faced with. Social media can also become addictive in the way of teen constantly checking their notifications on multiple platforms and looking for validation in likes, reposts or shares.

The role of parents when handling their child using social media is to understand the pros and cons to help them better navigate the world of the internet. One of the biggest parts of that navigating is being able to recognize when your teen is showing unhealthy signs stemming from using social media.

Unhealthy signs can be seen in actions like a child spending excessive amounts of time on their devices. Spending too much time using social media can take away from important responsibilities such as homework, family and friend interactions and even can cause a disruption in your teen's sleeping schedule. All of those factors can have a snowball effect and lead to a decline in their academic performance, which can cause a lack of motivation. Additionally, a teenager spending too much online can cause them to become withdrawn from offline activity. They can seem more irritable when they are not connected to their devices and feel the constant need of validation through what and who they compare themselves to via social media.

To help teens avoid building an unhealthy relationship with the online world, parents have to take the proper steps in communicating and educating not only their teen but also educating themselves. Parents can start by establishing an environment that is jdugement-free, letting your child be able to confide to you open and honestly. Suppose parents are noticing questionable signs with their teen. In that case, open-ended questions should be asked about the content they are consuming and active listening should following when the questions are answered. Parent can also explore social media platforms with their child to learn new things and help with the monitoring of the content that is shown. If you do notice any social or cyberbullying, you should address it with your teen immediately and advise them on how not to do it, recognize when it is going on and how to report any abusive online behavior.

Promoting good social media habits is important as well. Start by teaching your child proper online etiquette. This can be done by discussing how to be kind online and explaining the consequences of negative and offensive online behaviors can have in the real world. Encourage your teen to take the time out and think about what he or she is posting before clicking the share button. Having a balanced screen time schedule can also promote more in-person interactions, offline hobbies and physical activity.

The digial space for teenagers can be a tricky place to nagivate for them if parents do not equipt them with the right tools for success. Teens can face declines in social skills, school work and even face mental health problems due to excessive amounts of social media. Parents should make sure they are paying attention to any unhealthy sign their child may display from the effect of social media. Having open and honest conversations about what they are posting, reading or comparing themselves to. Sometimes, those conversations can be difficult, but discussing them can help with teenagers building a healthy outlook on the online world and social media.