Set healthy rules for social media use for children

Umdoni Christian Academy (UCA) recently hosted Christy Herselman from ‘The Chat’ to address parents and the wider community about social media trends and pitfalls and how people can promote healthy social media use within families.

Christy is no stranger to UCA, having visited in 2015 to lead parents through ‘The Chat – Birds, Bees and Destinies’.

In the 1990s, South African society was shaken by the crimes of Joey Haarhoff and Gert van Rooyen, who were implicated in the disappearance of five young girls. The concept of ‘stranger danger’ spread across the country, curtailing children’s freedom to play and explore the physical world outdoors. Additionally, in the 2010s, the emergence of portable digital devices provided children with a seemingly ‘safe’ alternative – access to the digital realm.

Between 2010 and 2015, with the rise of smartphones, front-facing cameras, and unlimited access to high-speed broadband alongside platforms like Instagram, the landscape changed dramatically. Parents found themselves navigating what Jonathan Haidt, an American social psychologist and author, termed ‘the largest uncontrolled experiment humanity conducted on its own children.”

Teenagers now spend up to nine hours a day on various social media platforms, far exceeding the mere two hours recommended by the American Association of Paediatrics.

While children are overprotected in the real world, they are not adequately safeguarded in the digital realm, resulting in increased rates of depression, anxiety, suicide and addiction to pornography. Despite outlining these challenges, Christy was eager to reassure parents that all hope was not lost.

Social media is here to stay, and completely banning children from these platforms is neither realistic nor feasible. However, parents can establish healthy rules and guidelines for cellphone and social media usage in the home. Crucially, children should not be granted access to social media before high school, preferably not before the age of 16.

Screens and social media, with their inherently addictive algorithms, exert a powerful pull on children, diverting their attention from outdoor play and physical interactions with friends. When parents attempt to impose limitations on social media usage, they can expect significant resistance.

However, Christy recommends that this effort not be undertaken in isolation; instead, families should unite to ensure children do not feel singled out or alienated from their peers.

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