Children's Mental Health and the Impact of Social Media
As it is known that mobile phones have become commonplace in everyday life, even today children also hold mobile phones to play. But what is surprising is that social media can affect children's mental health, such as increased anxiety and depression. For this reason, the theme of children's mental health and the impact of social media is discussed this time.
Taking a bit of information from TechTarget, social media is a collective term for websites and applications that focus on usability communication, community-based input, interaction, content sharing, and collaboration. Many examples of social media, such as Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tiktok, and Youtube.
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| Illustrative image (Picture: icnnational.com) |
Through social media, children can experience addiction, fatigue, and depression. How social media impacts a child's mental health depends on how they use it.
The Influence of Social Media on Children's Mental Health
Seattle Children said that children who use social media without rules and guidance from parents are vulnerable to mental health disorders.
Several studies show that social media use encourages the exploitation of young people. This can lead to online harassment and cyberbullying.
That's because many users upload violent, dangerous, and inaccurate or unrealistic images and videos, including content about sexual behavior and drug use.
However, children may see it as normal and then be able to imitate it.
Also, read: Coffee Drinking Habits Can Reduce the Risk of Diabetes.
On social media, it is still very difficult for children to know what information is true and false, who are credible sources, and who are not.
A lot of time that children spend looking at things on social media, will result in more similar content being fed to them.
As a result, children become more comfortable using social media for a long time.
Taken from Mydr, it can cause children to experience sleep disorders. Children between the ages of 5 and 16 should sleep between 9 and 11 hours each night.
Sleep deprivation can adversely affect their ability to learn in school, which in the long run can trigger child mental health problems.
According to research on teenagers, social media also harms the body image of women and men.
As teens' use of social media increases, more and more people monitor other people's bodies and give them a judgmental attitude toward themselves. Body surveillance practitioners report greater shame in teenage children about their bodies.
In general, the time children spend using social media can lead to anxiety and depression. However, these studies did not directly link social media to the disorder.
Children's unrealistic view of people's lives causes them to feel peer pressure and make unhealthy comparisons.
Considering the impact of social media use on these children, parental guidance is needed.
Despite the negative impacts, the use of social media also has benefits for children. For example, to help children connect with peers and distant family. Children can also gain insight into animals, health, astronomy, or other sciences.
Hopefully this information about "child mental health and the impact of social media" is useful for you and your family, especially for children.