Category: Social Media Safety

Social media has a powerful influence on how kids and teens view themselves and the world. Many children fall into the trap of comparing themselves to the influencers they see online. For some, that comparison can make them self conscious about their body and diet, often causing or aggravating disordered eating habits.

As a parent, you should be aware of these risks. Here are the dangerous connections between social media and eating disorders.

What are Eating Disorders?

Eating disorders are serious mental health conditions that cause severe disturbances in eating behaviors. The consequences can cause issues in your emotional and physical health. Eating disorders typically accompany negative body image or distorted perception of weight and shape.

Anyone can be affected by eating disorders — one study found that about 52% of girls and 45% of boys skip meals and engage in behaviors associated with eating disorders. Meanwhile, about 75% of girls and 70% of boys had at least one social media.

Social media can contribute to the development of eating disorders in several ways. Children and teens are of particular concern since the world around them heavily influences their development and choices.

The Influence of Social Media

Apps like TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat have made it easier for people to compare themselves to others, often leading to a negative self-image. When your kids are constantly exposed to images of people that appear to have perfect bodies, it can harm how they feel about themselves. The photos they see are likely edited and filtered to create the look they put out there, setting unrealistic standards.

These altered images of reality can cause children to compare themselves and feel pressured to conform. Things get even worse when content creators promote unhealthy habits or lie about how they got the body they did.

Creators can promote unhealthy diets like fasting or drinks that encourage weight loss. These ads are dangerous to children vulnerable to developing eating disorders. Algorithms will note the content your kids engage with and give them more pictures and videos of the same style, creating more damage.

What You Can Do

Taking action to protect your children’s mental health and prevent them from being bombarded with harmful content is important. As a parent, you play a crucial role in helping your children navigate the world. You can teach your children tips on staying away from harmful trends and being aware of how social media influences them.

These are some ways to take action:

Explain the importance of food

A diet full of whole foods is the best way to have a healthy body. Eating foods that nourish you help your skin and overall body stay as healthy as possible. Tell them how food fuels your body and remind them of the amazing things it does daily. You can make sure they have healthy options at home, like fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean meats.

Be a role model

Your kids learn by example so it is important to model healthy behaviors you want them to have. Avoid negative self-talk about your own or others’ bodies. Kids will internalize the way you talk about weight, food and body image, so be cautious about what you say around them.

Set social media boundaries

Limit their amount of social media use per day. It can reduce how much they’re exposed to harmful trends and messages. Encourage your kids to unfollow pages that make them feel bad about themselves or promote false claims about their bodies. Also, suggest doing other things such as getting outside or doing other hobbies.

Talk openly

Allow your children to feel safe when talking about what they see on social media. Be non-judgemental and validate their feelings and concerns. Sometimes you might need to give them a reality check by reminding them what they see online isn’t always true.

Emphasize self-care

Remind your children to take care of themselves in all aspects. In addition to their physical well-being, it also includes being mindful of their mental and emotional state. Teach them self-care habits like journaling and taking time to relax. As an adult, you might not realize how much stress kids and teenagers are under these days.

The Bottom Line

Social media can greatly affect your children’s body image and play a role in developing eating disorders. Work together with your children to learn how to have a healthy relationship with their bodies and prevent social media from influencing them.

Author bio:  Cora Gold is the Editor-in-Chief of women’s lifestyle magazine, Revivalist. She strives to live a happy and healthy life with her family by her side.
Follow Cora on Facebook and LinkedIn.

Read how social media is making kids grow up too fast.

Mastodon has been around since 2016 but has recently become more well known to the average person. This is a result of controversial issues of late related to Twitter since Elon Musk took over. The new popularity of Mastodon is because many have posted that they would like to leave Twitter.

Growing interest means it’s yet another social media network that more children and teens may potentially begin using, if they aren’t already.

Informed parents and educators are always the first step to ensuring social media safety and internet safety in general.

Article Outline: We’ll navigate through the world of Mastodon and explore whether it is a safe place for kids or not.

1. What is Mastodon?
2. What’s Different About Mastodon?
3. Are Kids and Teens Using Mastodon?
4. Is Mastodon Safe?
5. Steps to Social Media Safety?
6. Video that explains Mastodon

What is Mastodon?

The buzz on social media and in the news these days is that Mastodon is an attractive alternative to Twitter. It’s an open source social network where you can connect with others while building a common online community that exists on individual servers. These communities are controlled by the members, which gives them ability to make the group private if they choose.  Members can also screen those who join their community, but many groups are open to anyone.  Unlike Twitter, Mastodon does not have control over users.

What’s Different About Mastodon?

Mastodon is a social network like Twitter, but with distinct operational differences.

About Twitter

• It’s a company with rules and terms of use.
• Everything on Twitter is owned and controlled by the owners.
• You must join Twitter to take part in connecting with others.
• It’s a for profit enterprise that serves ads.
• All users are being monitored by Twitter to ensure they abide by their rules or risk being removed from the platform.
• Twitter is one large social media network that connects everyone into one large group.

About Mastadon

• It’s Open Source Software. It is decentralized within the Fediverse and managed by a non-profit organization.
• Anyone is free to create their own online community and manage it as they see fit.
• Mastodon is powered by those who use it on individual servers.
• There are no ads and Mastodon does not monitor members and their various interests
• Mastodon cannot they remove anyone from using it, because it’s not a single entity.
• Members of any group are subject to the code of conduct set out by the communities they are a part of. Removal from those groups is done by the server’s creator or moderation team, but it does not remove you from joining other groups.

Are Kids and Teens on Mastodon?

There have always been youth under 18 years of age using Mastodon, but it’s not a popular social networks of choice.  Kids are always looking for new ways to connect online and are typically open to trying new things. Twitter has never been an ideal method for kids to connect online with others of their own age because there are no groups, as such.  Twitter is very much a public forum.

The allure of Mastodon is total freedom create a personal group or join existing groups around certain interests.  It is not clear how many kids are using Mastodon because it is a decentralized and unmonitored network.

Is Mastodon Safe?

The idea behind Mastodon was to democratize social media.  Initially, it was create a safe place for any user to form their own communities and remove anyone that is harmful to that community. On the other hand, Mastodon gives children the control to create their own groups without supervision, whether private or open. There is no watch dog.  Even social media sites like TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram, which are not necessarily the safest place online for kids, are monitored and safe guards to prevent harmful content to minors.

A private group controlled by a trusted adult on Mastodon can be safe, but a child left to their own self monitoring can open them up to predators or connecting with others kids that have different values.  There are also no parental controls to stop children from joining other communities or stumbling upon material that is explicit.

We don’t like to dictate or pass judgement on whether a parent decided to allow there child on a particular social media platform, but the autonomy given to users to connect with others is a concern. There have also been reports of bad content on Mastodon that are not allowed to exists on other platforms.

If you are looking to form groups for school, discord is a better alternative even though discord has it’s own challenges related to a child’s wellbeing online.

Steps to Social Media Safety

Parents must remain vigilant to know what their kids are doing online. Parental control installations on all of their devices can allow parents to prevent certain apps from being installed. Still, parental controls can only go so far to monitor activity should you allow apps to be used.

Mastodon provides great freedom to journalists and political pundits but with great freedom comes more freedom than what you want you child to have online. Follow basic internet safety tips and install parental controls as you decide what’s best for your family.

Social media has become the main way adults and children alike socialize in today’s world. While it can be a tool to connect with others, social media can also hinder our social lives, especially for our kids. Children need in-person interaction to develop healthy social skills and engage in physical activity.

Regular social media interactions also leave your child more susceptible to cyberbullying or encountering inappropriate websites, which could damage their emotional health and development.

First, Ensure Social Media Safety

Social media can provide some good. It helps your child stay updated with technology and enables them to participate in online games and discussions with kids like them worldwide. This can help them learn and grow without isolating themselves from other people. However, this is best supervised and limited or your child could experience the unsavory side effects of those activities.

You want your child to be safe, and their online safety is a part of making that happen. One of the best ways to ensure this is to make sure they know the best ways to interact online. Teach them never to give out their personal information or use a credit card without your permission. They should also never use their full name in chat threads or lie about their age when trying to enter a website, regardless of whether their friends use it.

One of the best ways to keep your kids safe online is by experiencing the websites they go on yourself. The more you know about a platform your child visits, the more secure you will feel about their interaction with it.

No matter how kids use social media, a lack of activities outside the web can harm their physical, mental and emotional health. Living their life solely online can lead to social awkwardness and isolation as they grow into adults. It can also cause communication breakdowns since they don’t learn how to respond to body language and other physical cues.

Here are three ways to develop your child’s social life without screens

1. Get Them Involved in Extracurricular Activities

As your child grows, they will develop interests and personality traits suited for various activities. This is the first step in moving your child toward a healthy mix of online and offline social activity.  Encourage them to get involved in a club or sport they’re interested in.

They can get exercise by playing basketball, swimming or hiking, dig into their academic interests by joining a math team or history club, or experience their media hobbies in new ways by playing cards and board games regularly with friends.

Many activities take place on weeknights, giving them something positive to do after school away from the computer.

Interacting with others lets them practice the social skills they will need in adult life, such as having in-person conversations, resolving physical and emotional conflicts, moving their body, and getting fresh air. Other abilities include learning about keeping on schedule and making commitments, which can be much more flexible online than in the real world.

Moreover, before and after school care can help build your child’s social skills by participating in group activities. These activities provide opportunities to build stronger friendships.  When children feel confident to make new friends, they develop more positive interactions, which can lead to a healthy adult social life, as you can learn more here.

2. Cater to Their Mental Health

Your child’s mental health is just as important as their physical health, so it’s necessary to nurture it the same.

Children who struggle mentally are less able to engage in interpersonal situations, leaving them feeling isolated and unfit for their activities. Poor mental health also affects their mood, making them appear annoyed or hostile to other kids. These social struggles can be one major reason why kids rely on online social spaces, rather than in-person.

Teach your children the importance of mental health and how they should talk about any thoughts or feelings that bother them. Assure them that getting specialized care is the same as treating a physical illness and nothing to feel embarrassed about.

The more age-appropriate knowledge they have about their mental health, the less likely they will try to bottle up their emotions or engage in unhealthy habits.

You can support your child’s mental health by encouraging healthy relationship with social media, healthy eating, exercising, and talking openly about feelings without yelling or judging. Ensure they can identify when they are struggling and help them find safe individuals to speak with if they are too embarrassed to talk to you about a situation.

3. Be An Example

You are your child’s biggest example of how to interact with the world, so it’s important to model positive behaviors for them.

Be active and participate in social activities outside of your work or phone. Treat others respectfully, set appropriate boundaries and limit your screen time.

Your children can also learn how to interact with peers by practicing similar interactions with you, so have fun together. Doing enjoyable things with your child can help you bond and show them how someone who loves and respects them should treat them. All these things help them decide who they will be as an adult.

Set a dedicated time to talk to your child every day, asking more in-depth questions than simply knowing how their day was. Small talks about their favorite food, new friends, and other personal matters help develop a stronger parent-child relationship. When your child feels that you’re interested in what they have to say, they’ll look forward to it every time instead of spending time on social media.

Encouraging Their Social Life

Your child has unique interests and hobbies. They may find similar peers and activities online, but it’s important to encourage social interactions away from the screen. Helping them learn in-person communication as a child sets them up to be happy, productive adults.

They’ll be more open in communicating with other people verbally. This is crucial in building healthy interpersonal relationships. This is especially true when they reach the adulthood stage. Your child will become more sensitive to other people’s feelings, as well as their own. Increased awareness about self and others is an integral aspect of developing good coping mechanisms. You can talk to a child expert to get personalized recommendations as to how you can best deal with your child based on a thorough evaluation.

Author bio:
Cora Gold is the Editor-in-Chief of women’s lifestyle magazine, Revivalist. She strives to live a happy and healthy life with her family by her side.

Follow Cora on Facebook and LinkedIn.

At what age should you consider allowing your child to join social media? Most social media platforms require children to be at least 13 to create an account. Your child may not be ready at 13, but that’s OK. Here are some things you should consider to determine your child’s readiness to have social media accounts.

Risks of Joining Social Media

Many risks come with having social media that can make parents rightfully weary. Some digital predators can take advantage of your child’s innocence. If your child’s account isn’t set to private, they can gain suspicious followers who may leave inappropriate comments or send messages to your child.

This is dangerous for many reasons, and you should educate and warn your child of all the dangers they might face when they have an account on social media. You can never completely eliminate a photo from the internet once it’s posted. Ensure your child knows how pictures and posts can come back to haunt them in the future, like when applying to jobs or colleges. Online predators are everywhere, so educate your child on how to identify and block exploiters and what not to post on their socials.

Social media can also negatively affect your child’s mental health. Regardless of how old your child is, limit their screen time and monitor how it’s impacting their emotional development. Too much social interaction online can make children feel more isolated and alone, leading them to feel depressed and socially anxious.

Cyberbullying is also a prevalent and genuine concern for parents. Your child may even develop unrealistic expectations of body image from the things they see on social media.

Prepare Yourself and Your Child

There are a few things you can do to prepare yourself and your child for when they are ready to have social media accounts. If you think your child is too young now, ensure they understand why they aren’t ready. Discuss an age limit after which they’ll be ready, and give them something to look forward to so they don’t go behind your back.

Discuss the risks of social media and help them understand the consequences of dangerous behavior. Set boundaries and rules for your child’s online presence. Ensure you know how to use the platform they want to access so you can show them the ropes. Keep all location features turned off and show them how to set their profile to private. You can set parental controls on most platforms to supervise your child’s account until they are older.

This might be an excellent way to compromise and give your child the opportunity to show you they can be responsible online. Set a good example on your own profile, too, and ensure your child knows that you trust them and are monitoring them for their protection, not to invade their privacy.

You may also want to evaluate your own technology habits. Many adults struggle with having a healthy relationship with technology. According to one study, 76% of Americans said they check their email and messages while on vacation – a time when they should be focused on making memories with their families.

When kids see their parents constantly checking their phones, it can set the wrong example and lead them to pick up the same habits. If you can’t go an hour without checking your social media accounts, how can you expect your kids to stay off them?

How to Gauge the Appropriate Age

What age is appropriate for kids to join social media? Although many platforms have a baseline age to create an account, every child’s journey is different. There are many risks to consider, but your personal preference as a parent is the deciding factor. If you’re curious whether your child is ready to join social media, consider taking these factors into account.

Is your child open and honest with you? Will they share information and come to you for help with issues they might experience online? If you have open lines of communication, you will be more likely to trust them with an online presence. Do they come to you with other problems they face? Are they respectful and do they follow other rules and guidelines you have set in your household?

What is your child’s perception of body image? Do they have a healthy relationship with their body? Does your child have an understanding of cause and effect? Do they display abstract thinking that can help them consider the consequences of their actions? If you and your child have open lines of communication, have a healthy body image, and are good at following rules and guidelines, it might be time to let them create an account if you’re comfortable with it.

Joining Social Media

Parenting comes with some hard decisions – and deciding whether your child is ready to join social media is one of them. If you believe your child is old enough and mature enough to trust them with an online presence, discuss the risks and prepare them the best you can. You can learn and grow while finding ways to encourage your child’s social life without social media. If it doesn’t work out, you can always revoke their right to have an account until they’re a little older and wiser.

Author bio:
Cora Gold is the Editor-in-Chief of women’s lifestyle magazine, Revivalist. She strives to live a happy and healthy life with her family by her side.

Follow Cora on Facebook and LinkedIn.