WhyDoWeCare

Social Media and Doubt: What Our Kids are Thinking? Have you ever wondered as a parent what your kids are struggling with when they are on social media?  This could be any kind of social media.  Not limited to just one app or one type.  I have often wondered what my kids are truly thinking.  They are living in a different era than I lived in.  Back in the day, we didn't have phones and electronics like we do today.  This might age me, but my first cell phone was when I graduated from high school in 2000.  I had one of those Nokia phones.  Yikes! That makes me really old.  However, maybe some of you "parents" can relate. Now that we got past these old looking phones, I want to share with you some of the information I found online that some of our kids are thinking while participating in social media.  The top answers that I found with how children think when they are on social media were: Struggling to stay afloat- Often...

What are the Positive Effects of Social Media Most of my blog posts have been about the negative effects social media has on us and our children, but today I want to talk about the positive effects social media brings.  First off, these benefits are going to be much different than the benefits we see as adults.  Adults may use social media for personal use or they could use it for professional use as well.  What about kids?  Why do they need social media? Some ideas and thoughts from professionals: Children can develop social and technical skills they need to be competent citizens in the digital age    It is easier for kids to make friends with people all over the world, most of whom they will never ever meet without these technological advances. Social media makes it far easier to connect with long lost friends and relatives, as well as new-found friends.  Social networks actually make kids more relationship-oriented, considerate...

Why would screen time matter when relating it to social media?  The majority of the time spent on screens usually involves social media in some way.  When trying to control how we manage our children's social media networking, I think screen time needs to be evaluated. First, I want to share with you some statistics I found about what the average screen time is here in the United States.  Average time spent in front of a screen Age Teen 7 hours a day Age 8-12  4 hours 36 minutes Age 0-8  2 hours 19 minutes This is the Recommended amount: The recommended amount of screen time for Children: AAP Recommendations For children younger than 18 months , avoid the use of screen media other than video-chatting. Parents of children 18 to 24 months of age who want to introduce digital media should choose high-quality programming, and watch it with their children to help them understand what they're seeing.  For...

Have You Heard of Collin Kartchner? I want to spotlight an advocate for social media and kids.  His name is Collin Kartchner.  Have you heard of him?  If not, hopefully, I will give you enough information that you will want to go and listen to him speak or watch his ted talk.  He is amazing and offers some great advice to parents on how to help manage your children on social media and electronic devices. Background In 2017 Collin Kartchner started an Instagram account solely to make fun of social media and the toxic perfectionism it portrayed.  After running into an old friend at a gas station and finding out that their child has committed suicide because of the pressure of social media, he started a non-profit orgainization called #savethekids #savetheparents.  Its main focus is to help kids and parents fight the negative effects of social media and screen addiction.       Right now Collin travels...

Positive and Negative Effects of Social Media Let's face it! Social media isn't going anywhere.  It's here to stay.  Whether we as parents like it or not.  I would like to share with you the positive and negative effects social media has on our kids.  I initially thought as a parent, I would just avoid it and not let my kids have access to it, but the reality is, none of us can run from it.  At some point in life, we need it and we need to know how to use it.  I think if we understand the positive and negative effects, it can help us recognize what's important and help us manage how we use it.  The internet has endless amounts of information in regards to social media and how it can be positive or negative in our lives.  I want to highlight the ones I feel are most important, especially for our children.  Social media allows for speedy communication between parent and child     Believe me, I know how conven...

Hi Guys! Social media is a phrase that is used all the time, but do we really understand what we are saying when we say it? What about our kids? Do they understand what the phrase means? I feel it is important for us parents to understand the definition of social media and understand what your child thinks it means. Both parents and children might have a completely different idea of what social media means. How can we help our children know the effects of social media if we aren’t talking about the same thing? Watch this movie to see what I mean……. Definition of Social Media “Websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking.” Websters Dictionary “Interactive computer-mediated technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, career interests and other forms of expression via virtual communities and network.” Wikipedia “Social media includes any of these features: Personal user...