Point ASocial media has had numerous effects on children. Precisely, it has transformed the social interactions platform tremendously. By implication, social media has positive and negative impacts on the children.
The availability and access to cell phones to most children has facilitated forward and smooth correspondence between the pediatricians and the patients. Interestingly, the pediatric profession is considering using the social media platforms to conduct client assessments and history. For instance, they can view the patient’s profile page using the Facebook (Strasburger, 2012). In addition, advertisers have flooded the social media with adverts of various commodities that target the children. Interestingly, the children’s access to social media such as Facebook and YouTube grants them better and quicker access to these adverts (Comstock and Scharrer, 2010).
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, for instance, a study in 2009 showed that twenty-two percent of teenagers log in to their favorite site ten times in a day. Thus, the social media has become the primary mode of interactions for most of the teenagers. Visiting friends in the mall or at their houses is increasingly fading as the children are spending long hours in the social media (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2011).
One of the dismal effects of social media is that it has been proven to cause depression. For example, Facebook depression is a stress that teens get because of spending long hours on the the Facebook social platform; eventually, they start to exhibit symptoms typical of depression, according to O'Keeffe et al. (2011).
Social media is a preserve for most of the teenagers. On average, most children spend at least two hours on the social media sites. Most of the respondents reported that they considered social media as the latest trend for socialization. Point B
Social media affects parenting. The exposure of the children to the media has made modern parenting strenuous. In practice, surveys show that children interact with the various social media during hours when their parents are not around. Thus, this makes it difficult for parents to assert their authority on particular behaviors (Comstock and Scharrer, 2010).
More carefully, the social media continues to shape and influence the children’s self-image and self-concepts. In practice, they trigger their personal identities and social worlds (Strasburger, 2012).
Sexting is an increasing phenomenon among social media spheres. Interestingly, the children are not spared. In principle, Sexting involves sending, receiving or forwarding sexually explicit messages, images, and photographs through the social media ( O'Keeffe et al., 2011).
Thus, parents should take an active role of talking to their children about social media. Of the essence, they should address the issues of cyber bullying, time-management, and sexting among others (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2011).
References
American Academy of Pediatrics. (2011). Social Media and Kids: Some Benefits, Some Worries. Retrieved April 21, 2015 from https://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/pages/Social-Media-and-Kids-Some-Benefits,-Some-Worries.aspx
Comstock, G. & Scharrer, E. (2010). Media and the American Child. Georgia: Academic Press.
O'Keeffe, G.S., Clarke-Pearson, K. & Council on Communications and Media. (2011). The Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents, and Families. Pediatrics, 127 (4): 800 -804. Doi: 10.1542/peds.2011-0054
Strasburger, V.C. (2012). Children, Adolescents, and the Media, An Issue of Pediatric Clinics. Kansas, KA: Elsevier Health Sciences
