Modern society is known for its advancements in technology and for being a 24/7 environment, but how does this impact parenting? Parenting is both a joyful and at times a difficult task. Parents throughout the centuries have struggled with issues specific to their time, and the 21st century is no different. The rise of social media, globalization, and changing demographics are unique to our age. Children are maturing earlier and suffering more from diseases that only affected adults in the past such as obesity. There is more expected of children in today’s world. They are tested earlier and more often and expected to be the best pianist, student, and athlete. Not only do children suffer from anxiety, but their parents do also. As parents, we are wired to put the needs of our children before our own needs, and this is compounded by the pressures of modern society. Everyone is “on” all the time, including children who need time to daydream and do nothing to become individuals. However, with the constant pressure to succeed modern day parents are giving into their child’s every whim and raising children who will turn into entitled, selfish and rude adults.
They say it takes a village to raise a child, but how does a community slow down society and raise a healthy, generous and well-rounded child?
In modern society, both parents usually work to help maintain the economic stability of the home. This has changed the demographic within the household because fewer moms are stay-at-home moms and many children arrive home from school to an empty house. Parents have to balance work and parenting which can be stressful and challenging. Not only that, but parents also have to cope with the intricacies of the fast-changing technologies, including the somewhat infamous social media accounts. Today’s child is exposed to a lot more at a much younger age than ever before in history.
Social Media and the Electronic Age
Social media today has had the greatest impact on modern day parenting (Krzak, 2016). We live in a world of updates and uploads where even our child’s smallest accomplishment is posted on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Oversharing on social media by parents is not uncommon, and there is even a word coined for it, oversharenting (Phillip, 2015).
This information overload can cause jealousy and frustration in other parents. They may think their toddler is behind on his potty-training, or their teen is an academic underachiever.
Children at a tender age have recognized that if they do something funny or pose a particular way their parents will post their image on a social media site. Posing is not limited to the very young. Tweens and teens have realized the power and reach of social media for fame through posting on YouTube. Those concerned about likes and comments have taken popularity to a whole new level.
It may be too early to fully understand the repercussions of sharing on social media, but it can’t always be healthy. Instead of playing a game of catch in the yard or bonding over a board game parents and children are more concerned with sharing their latest achievement for all to see. This ultimately leads to emotional detachment and the potential for child neglect.
Another negative impact is what many term full disclosure (Krzak, 2016). Children love to share. Parents, however, must teach their offspring what to share and with whom to share it. Names, addresses, phone numbers and more all pose a danger not only from child predators but from thieves. In addition, posting or sending indiscreet photos, comments and more can have a devastating impact on a career or a child’s social standing at school. It can also cause serious repercussions against the child for violating school policies.
Bullying has become a major contemporary problem that affects parenting. The ease in which someone can emotionally attack someone through social media has caused an increase in teen suicide (“Bullying and Suicide - Bullying Statistics,” 2015). According to bullyingstatistics.org (“Bullying and Suicide - Bullying Statistics,” 2015), an increase in teen suicides has been directly linked to the rise in the use of social media. It is very easy for children to join in on making fun of or attacking others on social media. Today’s parents must add cyberbullying to their list of problems and issues to discuss with their children and monitor.
Yet another problem facing mom and dad in the current parenting world is how computer games and social media have taken the place of direct interaction among children. Most boys and girls spend most of their time texting, using Twitter and Facebook or the latest social media interaction tools connecting with their friends. PlayStation and Xbox have replaced outdoor activities, and children engage in them at all hours of the day or night. This can quickly become addictive, and parents will find their children texting and interacting with their social groups at the dinner table and while doing homework. It often leads to atrophied social skills and neglected relationships (“Video Game Addiction,” 2014). Limits must be set, or this sort of activity will take over a child’s life.
One more particularly troubling aspect of modern life that parents must face and address with the progeny is self-control. Indeed, teaching a child self-control has always been part of parenting. However, today it is not all about temper tantrums that might embarrass parents or lack of self-control at school or elsewhere. The electronic age requires children, and parents, to exercise restraint on social media. Getting angry and sending an inappropriate tweet or text to someone can have the same serious consequences as full disclosure has. Parents much relay to their child how he or she must learn to exercise self-control with tweets and texts as well as when dealing directly with people.
Other, more positive, contemporary issues in parenting include things like staying connected with friends and family. The internet and social media make it much easier to not only remain in touch with your relatives and friends but also allows you to find and reconnect with people that you have lost contact with over the years (Krzak, 2016). Parents should encourage this positive aspect of modern technology. Children too can maintain and foster closer connections with friends or others even if they live across the country or world from the other person. However, despite this, as with everything, it can be abused and hence yet another issue that modern parents must address. For example, using texting or twitter often results in overuse. For example, children find it easier to regularly text and share information even if they are in the same room. Parents must set some controls over this sort of over-the-top behavior.
Some potentially good or bad issues that parents today deal with regularly are things such as information access and “couch potato” syndromes (Krzak, 2016). The internet today allows youth to access just about anything, in detail, from science and history to graphic violence and pornography. The upside of this cornucopia of information at your figure tips the ability to acquire knowledge and answer almost any question without leaving your chair. The same goes with sharing thoughts and opinions while sitting on the couch and watching a particularly interesting candidate debate or show. Children can instantly connect with others and discuss what is happening on Twitter or through Instagram.
However, the potential downside for parents of this sort of technology is the ability for your supervisor or coworkers to reach out to you at any time. Parents may have a difficult time finding the right work/life balance, to the detriment of their family. Children learn by observing their parent’s behavior. If a mom or dad is always connected to the office no matter what is going on at home or elsewhere, the child will be inclined to stay connected with friends at inappropriate times at home or when on a family outing.
Conclusion
Contemporary issues in parenting have changed dramatically in the past few decades. The advent of the internet and the various social media tools have caused an increase in the things that parents must learn to not only teach their children about but also cope with themselves. The effects of social media and the internet are only now being studied extensively. Parents must take into account technology when attempting to teach their children proper modes of behavior. It is no longer a simple matter of right and wrong. The subtitles of the consequences faced by things like inappropriate tweets or texts mean can cause lasting harm. Unlike in the past, when perhaps an inappropriate oral outburst could be forgotten and forgiven, electronic media lives forever. Anything you tweet or text or email is permanent. Not only does it remain around forever, literally tens of millions of people could theoretically access it.
Modern parents need to understand and stay abreast of the rapidly changing technology that affects how they parent. Less than twenty years ago children had no or very little access to the Internet and information. Today, anyone can find out virtually anything almost instantaneously. This includes finding out anything a person may have posted or interacted with on a plethora of different sites. First children started using email and then texting. Facebook and Twitter quickly replaced them as our child’s medium of choice. Now, however, Snapchat and Instagram have become youth’s favorite way to stay in touch.
Parents must keep up with these changes and adjust their parenting techniques accordingly. Unless they do so, there may be serious repercussions with the next generation’s ability to effectively function in society and with each other.
References
Krzak, R. L. (2016). Ten Ways Social Media Has Changed Parenting. Retrieved September 06, 2016, from http://www.more.com/lifestyle/ten-ways-social-media-has-changed-parenting
Phillip, A. (2015, March 16). Will the rise of ‘over-sharenting’ mean the end of privacy for our children? Retrieved September 06, 2016, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/parenting/wp/2015/03/16/will-the-rise-of-over-sharenting-mean-the-end-of-privacy-for-our-children/
Video Game Addiction. (2014). Retrieved September 06, 2016, from http://www.video-game-addiction.org/social-consequences.html
