Social Media Addiction in Children

[jarangoyang0]

DISCLAIMER!
*This thread is just my personal thoughts, from seeing the daily situation, so please apologize if there are mistakes, and there is no intention of patronizing or being pretentious
*This thread is a translation of my local board https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5502386.msg64304124#msg64304124

Surely we have often seen, a child sitting quietly while holding a gadget, whether it's at home, at a restaurant, at a bus stop, or other public places. I often see a small family in a restaurant, where the Parents are busy to eat and talking while the child is left alone with the gadget. Whether he is playing games, watching videos, or just looking at random content on social media.

Based on one study, more than 87% of children in Indonesia have been introduced to social media before the age of 13.  And there are about 92% of children from lower-income families, knowing social media even earlier.

source :  https://mediaindonesia.com/

In this digital era, social media has become an integral part of everyday life, including for children. While social media can provide benefits in terms of connectivity and education, But there's no denying that social media addiction can have a serious impact, especially on children's development.

As long as the child is quiet and calm, it is not a big problem. But over time it will become a habit / become an addiction in the long run,
some of the negative impacts of Social Media Addiction on children that should be a serious concern for parents:

Social and Emotional Development Disorders
Children who are overly fixated on social media are likely to experience impairments in direct social interactions, They may have difficulty developing healthy communication skills and empathy towards others. Have you ever seen a child who immediately cries or getting worse, tantrum uncontrollably when their gadget is taken away?

Mental Health Issues
Social media addiction can contribute to increased stress, anxiety, and depression in children. Various studies show that excessive usage can harm their mental health. Most social media platforms display things that are very glamorous, perfect, and cool, so they will compare themselves and feel like, "why can't I be like that (Influencer)" which leads to anxiety and low self-esteem.

Lack of Physical Activity
In the past, we were often scolded by our parents for playing outside too much. Now, it's the opposite; children tend to prefer staying at home quietly with their gadgets. Children who spend too much time in front of social media screens are likely to be less physically active, which can lead to long-term health issues such as obesity and related diseases.

Several factors that we may recognize that can contribute to children becoming addicted to social media

Psychological Factors
The excessive desire for attention or validation can propel children to continue using social media. Back then, we used to do this a lot, like showing off what we can do to other people , but now most of what is shown is inappropriate (sexy dancing, for example. There's no problem with sexy dancing, but when it's a kid doing it, I think it's kinda weird.).

Platform Design
Features like constant notifications and algorithms designed to keep the user's attention also play a role in increasing the risk of addiction in children. Back in the day (until now), when we open Facebook or Twitter (X), we had to enter keywords to search for interesting stuff, unlike TikTok/Instagram/YouTube Shorts, where the algorithm automatically arranges them to show what we often watch.

Lack of Parental Supervision
Children who do not receive sufficient parental supervision regarding social media usage are more susceptible to addiction., this is a key factor in all of it.

From now on, parents should start educating their kids about the dangers of social media addiction and the importance of using technology in a healthy way. Set a clear time limit for using social media and make sure that time is spent on activities that are more physically and mentally benefits. Parents need to actively keep an eye on their children's social media activities and provide the necessary guidance. Encourage kids to participate in physical and social outdoor activities to reduce dependence on social media.

So, the social media addiction in children is not a problem to be taken lightly. With a better understanding of its negative impacts and the right preventive efforts, we can help protect the future generation from unwanted risks due to uncontrolled use of social media. Parents, educators, and the community as a whole have a crucial role in creating a healthy and safe environment for children to grow and thrive.

Input, sharing experiences, or different perspectives are greatly valued by me, don't hesitate to write down your opinions!
"Thank you"

[damnrancho]

This is fraught in some ways for children, because the Internet is fraught with so many threats. Of course, you can get special subscriptions and restrictions for children from the operator. In general, I only support this development.

[mich]

Well I do feel that social media addiction is bad for kids. There has to be alot more effort to censor websites that are not suitable for minors.
Kids being exposed to websites that use profanity language is not good for them. It can teach them words that they end up using without knowing the true meaning of it.
Social media addiction is a serious disease that should not be taken lightly. A child attention span will be short due to their constant attention being focused on social media on things like computer, phones, and tablets.

[lu8u]

The online media addiction among children happens because they have easy and unlimited access to interesting and entertaining content, without adequate supervision from adults. This can negatively affect their social, emotional, and cognitive development. Parents need to work together with their children to build better habits.

[Spitogatos]

There are also good positive channels on YouTube, for example, for children. Time does not stand still and development methods are also modern.

[jvanname]

Children are going to be f@#$ed up. Most children come from f@#$ed up families because the general population is f@#$ed up. Children get sent to f@#$ed up public schools because society as a whole is f@#$ed up. Social media f@#$s children up a little bit, but most of their f@#$edupness comes from either their families or their schools. Families are truly the worst.

Regards,

-Joseph Van Name Ph.D.

P.S. I would rather talk about reversible computation, but now I have to tell people how f@#$ed up everyone is. How sad! People, all too often, act like complete and total f@#$ing Nazis (especially the members of my f@#$ed up family; yes, my family consists of s@#$%ty @$$ pieces of s@#$). And this is why biological laboratories cannot implement sensible bio-safety protocols until we have a few more pandemics that cause everyone to have so much brain fog that they cannot think enough to implement these protocols any more.

Hmmm. Children do not want to talk to their parents. Maybe the parents should learn some social skills. They should learn to have a f@#$ing conversation and not cause their children to hate humanity. But that won't happen. Parents take no responsibility for being absolutely insufferable piles of dead garbage because most parents are horrible people raising future horrible people.

[peter0425]

Another great downside of social media attention and what I have personally observed is that kids do not learn how to read and spell. Since everything on the internet is shortened or abbreviated, kids adapt that and never learn the proper spelling of a word.

Instead of reading books and having their communication skills developed, they are seeing content of no value. This phenomenon  must be considered as an epidemic at this point.

[codIuni]

I was already Googling porn at the age of 10, but I didn't grow up to be a fool, so nothing terrible will happen.

[jvanname]

I was already Googling porn at the age of 10, but I didn't grow up to be a fool, so nothing terrible will happen.

That is really gross and illegal. This would have not happened if Google changed its name to Oogle and changed its slogans to "Were watching you watch something that you are not supposed to watch". Google should send everyone in the world (except for a few happily married people who don't need that garbage) a lump of coal every Christmas.

Regards,

-Joseph Van Name Ph.D.

P.S. I question whether you truly turned out fine or not. Most people are f@#$ed up pieces of s@$%, so there is a good chance that you are one of them. How do we know that you could not have turned out better? Your anecdote with a sample size of one is not evidence of anything, and the fact that you think that this is evidence shows that you may be in-fact a fool.

[betswift]

Nowadays, it's so common for many parents to just give their phone or tablet for their child so that they could relax or do their own thing, knowing that nothing would bother them. I do believe that it's a bad trend and it shouldn't be like it, being exposed too much to the current Internet in a young age could cause many problems to come. I, from my own experience and if I were a parent, would try to bring more family and physical activities for my child to be interested in them, so that they would have choices besides just snapping their gadget out and fall out of this world.

[russianmother]

I don't know, I grew up on the free Internet and didn't become a psycho or a thug. Depending on what kind of upbringing, it is necessary to say what is good and what is bad, the policy of prohibitions only makes it worse.

[mich]

The other day my nephew came over to my house and brought his iPad to watch some videos on YouTube. I was reading a book and couldn’t focus due to how loud the volume on my nephew’s iPad was.
So I asked him politely to watch his videos with his earphones on or go to another room where he wouldn’t disturb me. It was like was talking to the wall so I took away his iPad and he snapped out of it.
He suddenly asked me why I was taking away his iPad and told him I asked him three times to put it away, go to another room, or put his earphones on. I believe my nephew has a social media addiction because he doesn’t seem to ever pay attention with things like this.

[Iponemases]

Yes, at least do something, the children will still get to the Internet. While you are not at home, they will get into the computer

[betswift]

Yes, at least do something, the children will still get to the Internet. While you are not at home, they will get into the computer

That's also correct, however, you still need to spend some time with your beloved ones (children especially!) in order to teach them that the Media and gadgets are not the end of the World and not the only things that can give you entertainment and joy. There are so many family activities you can do together in free time that won't be so hard to start doing, yet many people are just lazy or ignorant so things stay the way they are.

[bitterguy28]

We as parent must have a big part in this matter.

never allow our children to just enter a site and download apps without our knowledge .

limit their internet access daily basis .

and most specially , we should never loss contact with them , engaging to what they are doing inside social media and the whole internet world.

[betswift]

We as parent must have a big part in this matter.

never allow our children to just enter a site and download apps without our knowledge .

limit their internet access daily basis .

and most specially , we should never loss contact with them , engaging to what they are doing inside social media and the whole internet world.

I wouldn't go so far if they are not very young or entirely new to it, however, I agree with the main thesis - it's important to be with your child and spend time with them. It's important to be their friend, not their jailor, as well. If you won't let them do everything they want, they will do it anyways, albeit becoming even angrier or sad. The best course of action is to do it with them, guiding them through.