Introduction
Social media is a platform that is constantly consuming children and even younger. It is also evolving the way things are done, be it business, studies, playing games, communicating with each other, interacting with new people. Today, social media has the power over parents to govern their children the way they want to. Here, children talk to each other, share things, express themselves, meet new people. No doubt there are plenty of benefits it has been providing to the youth, but on the same side, it has a great influence on children. Everyone sees at their home children continuously scrolling through Facebook or Instagram even when having dinner; they have their mobile phones in their hands. All this has resulted in a pushback for the parents in growing their children in a healthy environment. Here, we will talk about both the positive and negative influence that social media has on children-
Positive Influence
- Today technology is running at a very fast pace, and the generation of today has to go along with it. Hence, spending time online to know the technical aspects is also very important. And one can learn only through spending time on the computer and interacting or participating in online activities.
- Social media is also used as a platform by children to express themselves and be creative by doing various thing online. It is a way to showcase to the world your talent, which ultimately leads to success in your life. There are endless pages on Instagram which are influential and creative and where people update their skills. Also, they are learning by interacting more online as it provides more practical understanding as compared to theoretical. Teachers provide many different links or assignments to students to do, helping them gain knowledge and learning practicality.
- Through social media, people are connected. This way, various relationships are surviving as they are connected through social media and also at school; having a common group enables us to discuss important things. Children can make new friends who have similar interest, thereby enhancing social development. Even we get so much interaction through social media that we even wish on people's birthday when we forget to do so on normal days. It also acts as a mood booster since children tend to cling to social media or talk to their friends when they are not in a good mood. Hence, it is good in such a situation.
Negative Influence
- Addiction is the worst part of being on social media. It makes a child addicted to continue scrolling through social media after every 2 minutes. There is a constant urge that forces the mental activity to pick and check the phone. There is some psychological nerve in our brain that makes us go through social media or check other people's stories. We are eager to know what new posts or stories must have been posted or what my friend has replied. All these features have led us to become such social media freaks that it has become an addiction for children.
- Social media has eaten up extra-curricular activities, which involves physical activity and mental activity. Children spend long hours going through pictures, videos, or news about people they admire or are a fan of. The time they consume in doing all such wasteful activities has resulted in zero productive work. Also, due to this, they do not study at home and get lower grades at school. While in the classroom, some students are on their phones rather than listening to their teacher. Being on phones all the time hurts the mind of children and even builds a bad attitude among them.
- Poor mental health is another negative influence of social media on children. Many mental health doctors have said that those children who spend more than 3 hours on their phone in a day are likely to have poor mental health. Even sometimes, it leads to mental illness, which can be life-threatening. For example, recently, the PUBG Mobile game has made children so addicted that most of them end up having some disease or problem in their backbones, brain, etc. There is no social or mental development of children. They get bullied or emotional so easily, and they end up taking some wrong step because they have never been strong mentally.
Conclusion
Conclusively, there are advantages and disadvantages to all. Social media is a great pathway to learn about the modern world, but on the same side, being on it constantly is not good for children's mental health. Here, only parents can play a role in their children life where they have to help them in learning new things and at the same time protect them from the addiction of social media.
