Social media can be dangerous for kids – expert
Any child under the age of 16 should be prevented from using any form of social media.
Our everyday lives are heavily influenced by social media, and most young people spend a significant amount of time on social media.
Rekord spoke to Danie van Loggerenberg of the Moot child protection hotline who outlined the dangers of social media.
Van Loggerenberg said cyberbullying and harassment are on the rise as people use social media more and more.
“When it comes to people’s emotional well-being, mental and physical health and other areas of life, the use of social media is associated with various issues.
“The use of social media is associated with, anxiety, stress, emotional exhaustion, depression, loneliness, self-harm, substance abuse, envy, low self-esteem, low-quality sleep as well as health problems.
“The dangers also include addiction to social media, interference with important obligations such as schoolwork, general issues such as exposure to misinformation, violation of one’s privacy, and political polarisation,” he said.
Van Loggerenberg said social media negatively impacts the well-being of a person.
“Social media creates a false image of how people look, how they interact with others and what are acceptable ways to interact and how to live your life.
“Many people tend to make comparisons when reviewing others’ social media activity, such as ‘Did I get as many likes as them?’
“As a replacement for meaningful connections they might otherwise make in person, they search for validation on the internet,” he said.
Van Loggerenberg said there is also the fear of missing out (Fomo).
“The fear is that if someone doesn’t use social media sites, they will miss jokes, connections or invitations.
“Anxiety and depression can be caused by missing experiences.
“A person’s thoughts and feelings can be affected when they see they’re excluded from an activity online,” he said.
Van Loggerenberg said they do not recommend that any child under the age of 16 use any form of social media.
“Social media has a greater impact on teens’ mental health the earlier they start using them. Females are particularly vulnerable to this.
“It is more common for teenage males to express aggression physically, while teenage females do so emotionally, excluding others and making hurtful comments.
“Such harmful interactions are more likely to occur on social media,” he said.
Van Loggerenberg said the usage of social media has a significant impact on the mental health of young people.
“The exposure to a lot of content on social media can be harmful and damaging to their future mental health as their brains are still developing.
“Young people can view missed experiences through social media but their appearances and reality are distorted as a result.
“Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat increase the likelihood of seeing unrealistic, filtered photos at a time when their bodies are changing,” he said.
Van Loggerenberg said these filters make it difficult for teens to tell what is real and what is not.
“This is especially difficult for them physically and emotionally.
“Mentally it is better to be outside in nature than being in a room closed up the whole time,” he said
Van Loggerenberg urged parents to be more active and communicate with their kids about the dangers of social media.
“Children shouldn’t have unlimited access to the internet and social media and parents should check their phone activity daily.”
Van Loggerenberg said most children are followers and they follow whatever the newest trend is without any sense of danger or the kind of trouble they can get into.
“Communication is key.
“Once parents share the dangers and communicate openly and honestly, their children will confide in them when they encounter strange and unhealthy situations,” he said.
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