Should Kids Have Social Media Access?

Should kids have social media accounts? After all, it’s common to see kids these days with all sorts of devices that can access the internet. Plus, your child would have asked you at some point if they could join Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube.

They tell you their friends, with the approval of their parents, are on these platforms. But you’re unsure if you should give your kids the green light. Well, let’s not waste any time and dive into this topic. Keep reading to learn what’s best for your children.

Why Should Kids Have Social Media?

Social media has a different meaning for kids. It’s not just a platform where they can connect with their friends. 

These sites are part of their social fabric and are essential in keeping friendships with their peers alive. They use these platforms to send messages to their friends, create groups, and share funny videos and memes. 

Some conversations revolve around what happens on these sites, and they won’t feel like they’re missing out. Social media allows kids to stay in touch, even when they change schools or move to a different city. 

On these platforms, they can share their experiences, express themselves freely, and learn about their identities. It can be a place where kids discover what interests them as they come across different hobbies and communities.

They can show their creative side and receive validation from their friends and peers, helping shape their personality. 

Watching funny or relatable content can even be a form of stress relief, especially during difficult days.

What Age Should Kids Have Social Media?

It’s hard to pinpoint when kids should have social media. Instead, you should consider your child’s maturity and emotional resilience. These characteristics are essential because they ensure your kids can handle what they see on social media.

To truly understand when should kids have social media, go through the following sections.

Should Kids Under 13 Have Social Media?

No, ideally, kids under 13 shouldn’t use social media. Remember, children in this age group are still developing and learning about themselves and the world. They will pretty much absorb anything they come across.

They are vulnerable to cyberbullying and bad actors, which will affect their mental health. Moreover, most social media platforms don’t allow kids under 13 to create accounts.

Should Kids Under 16 Have Social Media?

Maybe! Social media networks won’t stop your kids from joining their platforms if they are 13 or older. However, you should gauge whether your children can handle what they see on social media. 

Because they are still mentally developing, you must supervise what they do on these platforms. Plus, be clear about why you’re setting specific boundaries. This way, they’re more likely to follow your rules.

Should Kids Under 18 Have Social Media?

Again, the answer to this question is maybe. Your kids may be closer to adulthood, but this doesn’t mean they are ready for social media. They have a better sense of self and emotional maturity than when they were under 16. 

However, the risks of using social media are still prevalent, regardless of age. As a parent, you must educate your children about these risks. Avoid trying to scare your kids because it may push them further toward the negative side of social media.

Instead, be respectful, treat them like young adults, and give them the freedom to explore. Again, keep the lines of communication open and ask them to contact you if they have any questions.

Advantages of Social Media for Pre-Teens and Teens

Social media has its advantages for pre-teens and teens, as highlighted below:

• It helps with creativity and self-expression: The beauty of social media is that kids can share their experiences, ideas, and creativity. They can post about their hobbies, understand people’s thoughts, and develop their identity and voice. 
• It improves their digital literacy: Digital literacy is becoming crucial because we spend so much time online. By letting your kids join social media, they learn about digital literacy.
• It provides easy access to information: Social media sites are places where kids can learn about specific topics, especially those relevant to their academics. Plus, they can stay up-to-date with current events, ensuring they are aware of what’s going on.

Potential Dangers of Social Media for Pre-Teens and Teens

However, as you may already know, social media does have a dark side. Here are five reasons why kids should not have social media:

• It can expose them to inappropriate content: Even when you do your best to filter what your children see, they may come across inappropriate content. You can’t always be around your kids when they use social media. Inappropriate content, especially when viewed by children, will influence their thinking and can even cause traumatic experiences. 
• It makes them vulnerable to cyberbullying: Cyberbullying is common on social media because of how easy it is to create new accounts and remain anonymous. Features like disappearing messages and stories make it easy to spread rumors, which will affect your kids.
• It’s addictive: Social media networks want you to stay on their platforms as long as possible. Their sophisticated algorithms will continue showing content your kids want to see. The constant stimulation is addictive, resulting in the phenomenon of doom scrolling. It’s easy to lose track of time on various platforms and spend hours watching all sorts of content.
• It affects their self-image: Filters can hide imperfections and set unrealistic beauty standards for your children. They may look at themselves negatively, affecting their physical and mental health over time.
• It may pressure them to follow harmful viral trends: Your kids may feel compelled to follow harmful viral trends because they see everyone they know doing the same. The Tide Pod challenge in 2018 is one such example.

Why Is It Important for Parents To Monitor Their Kids’ Social Media Use?

As a parent, you must monitor your kids’ social media use because:

• You can provide guidance early on: It’s important to understand that it’s a matter of when, not if, your children will join various social media platforms. You can provide guidance and help your kids navigate these sites safely.
• You can help cultivate good habits: Social media is addictive by design. By monitoring your kids, you can help them develop good habits. For instance, by setting time limits, your children won’t waste hours every day on these platforms.
• You can provide support: Sometimes, things go wrong. For example, your kids may be victims of cyberbullying. You can intervene before the situation goes out of control and provide support. They should know that you’re always there to help them out.

What Can Parents Do To Control What Their Children See on Social Media?

Here is a list of things you can do to control what your children see on social media:

• Enable not safe for work (NSFW) filters: Several social media networks have NSFW filters to prevent their users from seeing inappropriate content. If the user is under 18, these platforms will hide NSFW content by default. You should go through the settings and enable this filter just to be safe.
• Establish clear rules for social media use: It’s better to set rules for social media use. For example, no one can go to the bathroom with their phones. Or, if your kids are eating or watching TV with the family, they can’t use their devices. You can also limit their screen time.
• Teach them how to report content: Show your children how to report content they don’t like when it appears in their feed. This way, the platform won’t show the same or similar posts in the future.
• Use parental controls offered by the device software and platforms: Android and iOS devices have features to control how long your kids can use specific apps. Social media platforms also have these controls. For example, you can turn off the likes counter and prevent others from commenting on Instagram. Third-party tools like Bark and Net Nanny can control and monitor what your kids do on social media.

Ways Social Media Can Positively Impact Young People

Here are some of the ways social media can positively impact young people:

• It makes them feel accepted: Navigating life as a pre-teen and teenager is confusing. Kids have so many questions about themselves and feel out of place. Social media can make them feel normal and accepted, especially when they know others have similar experiences.
• It can spark their creativity: Social media can expose children to various hobbies. Plus, countless communities cater to these interests. By joining and participating in these communities, they can develop invaluable skills. For example, your children can learn about video editing by posting videos regularly.
• It helps them find positive role models: Your kids can discover creators and educators who can become their role models. This can change their outlook on life and inspire them to take up new activities.

Should kids have access to social media? Well, it’s hard to provide a definite answer because these sites have their good and bad sides. The best option is to identify the issues with these platforms and help your children navigate them.

Children will make mistakes because they’re still figuring out how to navigate this world. Let’s face it — we have all done this at some point in our lives. However, social media doesn’t forget, i.e., what your kids post on these platforms will stick around forever. And it can affect them at some point.

Thankfully, you can be proactive and make sure this never becomes a reality, especially on Twitter, aka X. With TweetDelete, it’s easy to delete hundreds or thousands of tweets with a single click.

It can remove their likes from specific posts and delete their replies and retweets. All you need is a date, a word, or a phrase, and our tool will find what you’re looking for.

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