Today most young people are attached to their devices, which has become extremely concerning to parents. More worrisome is what is happening to teenage mental health from the rise of the overuse of screens.
Years ago, raising our children never included teaching them social media manners. Today, however, your social networking etiquette could determine whether you get into your college of choice and land the job you have been dreaming of.
Social media platforms have some real up sides, we can’t deny that. When it comes to staying in touch with friends and family and being up to speed with all the latest and greatest in news, social networking does have positive attributes.
One of the lessons that adolescents need to understand early, is what goes online, stay online and can impact your future. Learning social media etiquette should be a priority — and start early.
Here are 7 bad habits that kids pick up from social media:
- Poor Grammar – We’ve seen this from chat room usage, text messaging, and DM’s; so, it’s nothing that’s really new. Although people are allowed leniency on text messaging, it’s important to encourage your teen try to always be as accurate as possible so when it matters, they won’t make the blunder.
- Time Management – Reality is, this isn’t just a problem for kids, but it poses a greater threat to them, since they haven’t yet learned to balance their time between school work and leisure to the extent they will need to as adults. Teens need boundaries — a technology contract can help with this.
- Following Celebrities – On the surface, and with proper balance, there’s nothing inherently wrong with corresponding with celebrities. In fact, it’s one of the great things about social media. The danger is in placing more emphasis on the posts of the famous and buying into every little blurb as though it were sage wisdom, just because of the person’s celebrity status. We have witnessed many young people attempting to live up to a life that is not obtainable as they are scrolling through feeds of the rich and famous, which is potentially causing the rise in depression and anxiety.
- Public Venting – It’s good to have outlets for our anger and frustration, so long as they are safe and private. The trend these days apparently is to go to your profile and launch into a thoughtless tirade when the mood swings. There is nothing private about social media. What goes online, always has the risk of becoming public. If you believe you are privately texting your friend, you never know if your friend will forward that text message.
- Loss of Originality – This isn’t a widespread thing, but it’s something we are seeing more and more often. Most social media networks offer another form of showing approval, like a thumbs-up or a like. Used in that way, they’re vaguely useful and certainly harmless enough. A problem could arise if you accidentially approve or disapprove of a questionable post that could potentially cost you humiliation, a job or scholarship.
- Following –Following someone should be based on individual merit, as determined by the follower, on a case-by-case basis. Kids need to establish these parameters and values in their lives now, and not toss them aside in a social networking environment. It’s important for your teen to understand, you are who you hang with — online and offline.
- Blurring the Lines – This is a virtually universal issue, in that it affects people of various ages, backgrounds and occupations. There seems to be little if any distinction for so many of us, between our personal and professional lives, as we embrace these social media sites. Alway remind your kids — your online reputation is a reflection of their offline character.
The best advice we can give young people, when in doubt, click out. Having a bad day, call your friend — talk to someone. Maybe journal it, write it down. Avoiding digital documentions could potentially save you from virtual leaks years from now. It’s not that you have anything to hide, as much as how people can twist and edit your situation with your own words.