How Should You Approach Your Children’s And Teenagers’ Social Media Use?
Children's social media usage is again in the spotlight, with the SA
government announcing a proposal to ban children under 14 from
accessing sites such as TikTok, Instagram and Facebook and requiring those
aged 14 and 15 to have parental consent to use the apps. But with two-thirds of
primary-school-aged children and most teenagers owning their own mobile screen
devices, is banning, or restricting your child's access to social media the
answer and is it a workable solution? What are your thoughts LiveTribers? How
should you approach your children’s and teenagers’ social media
use?
If anyone is unsure about this issue, educate yourself by watching "The Children
in the Pictures" or listening to Podcasts about this. I believe all adults need
to check this out before even purchasing a device for their children.
In current generation social media plays crucial role not for only entertainment
but also for information about current affairs. Yes, it is dangerous among the
children but it also has its plus points too. I believe restricting unsuitable
sites and parents should be able to choose the category that their children are
exposed to could help protecting children from being bullied and victims.
I believe that yes the kids should be limited on social media accounts until at
least 15 years old due to the fact some posts can have effects on our kids. BUT
i do think that parents should also have tighter restrictions on their kids
phine
Kids seem to be getting less intelligent... and prob due mostly to social
media.
Their lack of communication skills, less moving around, emotional intelligence..
are all suffering as a result.
I never grew up with computers so I know how it was when I was a kid.
Books and sport are the answer, and not stupid selfi pics, and video
displays.
If we don't not stop the rot then kids will be really messed up by adulthood.
I think it's a great idea to keep kids off social media. They should be
concentrating on being kids and being outside away from technology for health's
sake.
I will speak with my child about the importance of not accessing social media
sites that they aren't old enough for and set rules for them to follow. I will
also rely on tech by installing apps on my child's phone that will monitor their
activity and set parental controls.
I think educating children, setting guidelines, and using parental controls are
more practical then ban it completely. This balanced approach ensures safety
while promoting responsible and informed social media use.
I think it is a good idea but not sure how it can be policed. I think parents
often use screen devices as baby-sitters to keep the kids quiet and I see
toddlers being given phones to play with. I can understand it but the parents
are 'creating a monster' by exposing the kids to social media too early. I
really believe 18 should be the age.
I might support this proposal because it will helped families to let their
children out of social media at a young age. And might let the children spend
more time outdoors.
While I don’t want my kids using social media, I don’t think the government
should be able to ban it. That is government overreach. We live in a free
society. Social media use should be a matter for individuals and families to
choose and manage their own use.
This one is a beauty, what a modern day headache for all parents, most certainly
parents need to be the drivers of their child's actions and behaviours, but they
need all the support they can get from government, schools, the social platforms
themselves and any and all other organisations to support children and the
parents.
I think that the parents should take full responsibility in what their children
are looking at and how much time they spend on their devices, there is just way
too much bad info out there that can be really harmful.
I believe that yes the kids should be limited on social media accounts until at
least 15 years old due to the fact some posts can have effects on our kids. BUT
i do think that parents should also have tighter restrictions on their kids
phine
I don't think banning will work. Parents must take responsibility for the
devices their children use/access and if they don't feel they are appropriate or
are being misused or harmful to their child, don't give it to them
It would be good if parents were not the only ones involved. Social media
platform owners/providers and governments should be the ones blocking access (on
dodgy websites) to minors.
As a society (parents and lawmakers), we also need to block - by identifying,
keeping track of (and punishing), cyber bullies and online paedophiles.
Many schools are already doing the right thing in restricting children's use of
social media and encouraging students to report online bullying.
It is is a contentious topic with various arguments for and against it. I
believe it is depend on the circumstance from family to family, case by case. It
is hard to give standard approach to children's teenagers social media use. One
principle that most of parents should know is do not have them feeling pressured
and against you because it would make the situation worse.
I think blocking will just make matters worse. Let children develop and educate
themselves at their own pace with whatever methods everyone else is using.
Both adults and children really ought to have a standards approved test on each
social platform before being given an account. An under 14 account type might be
reasonable, with a lower age limit for permission of access to social networks.
Perhaps restricted hours of availability. During the years of, e.g. 11 to 14,
children can learn usage and consequence of social networks before complex
content makes that difficult, as it is indeed for most adults. Peole tend to
ignore the real social effect. Learn to drive before being allowed on the open
road. The current suggestion removes a significant percentage or whole of the
parental guidance period. Fully limiting under 14 social network access, in the
context of properly regulated access to social networks (adults regulated too)
appears to constitute a legislative offence and an invitation to abuse
innocence.
You can't block Children from social media, so you need to have an open
discussion with them about the risks. Set boundaries but also be open to them
asking questions.
Approaching your children's and teenagers' social media use requires a
thoughtful and proactive approach. Here are some tips to help you navigate this
important aspect of their lives:
1. Open Communication: Maintain open and honest communication with your children
about their social media use. Encourage them to share their experiences,
concerns, and questions with you.
2. Set Clear Expectations: Establish clear rules and guidelines for social media
use, such as time limits, appropriate content, and privacy settings. Make sure
your children understand the expectations and consequences for not following
them.
3. Monitor Their Activity: Keep an eye on your children's social media activity,
especially when they are younger. Familiarize yourself with the platforms they
use and check their privacy settings regularly.
4. Educate Them About Online Safety: Teach your children about online safety,
including the importance of protecting their personal information, avoiding
interactions with strangers, and recognizing cyberbullying.
5. Encourage Positive Behavior: Encourage your children to use social media in a
positive and responsible way. Teach them about digital citizenship, empathy, and
respectful communication online.
6. Be a Role Model: Set a good example by demonstrating positive social media
behavior yourself. Show your children how to use social media responsibly and
respectfully.
7. Seek Professional Help if Needed: If you have concerns about your children's
social media use or if you notice signs of problematic behavior, seek help from
a mental health professional or counselor.
Remember that every child is different, so it's important to tailor your
approach to their individual needs and maturity level. By staying involved,
informed, and supportive, you can help your children navigate the complex world
of social media in a safe and healthy way.
You are supposing the children can remember all that?
You expect all kids to think with the maturity and have the experience of an
adult?
Then you don't understand kids very well.
You remove the temptations and that is the only thing that will work in the
longer term.
If you are a parent then it's no use saying it cannot be controlled.
Take control and stop buying kids mobiles.
Education doesn't always work.
It doesn't always stop kids taking up smoking or drinking.
You have to make sure they cannot access the money to buy such stuff.
You simply don't allow them access when at home.
It's probably going to be banned to under ages anyhow.
When it comes to social media use bans are somewhat absurd. How can a social
media company verify the age of its members without collecting potentially
sensitive data. Also any tech savvy child can either use a proxy or some other
ip address spoofing tool to appear to be in another country not subject to our
laws,.
I think the best thing a parent can do is educate their children in responsible
usage.
Not really!
Who said our data was completely private anyhow?
I'm sure they know what they are doing.
It can be done.
As for proxys?
Many companies now have the technology to combat them.
Tried using one last year and it was impossible.
Education doesn't always work.
How are you going to stop immature minds being exploited?
There are pre teens and teens sending nude pics to one another.
You control usage as that is the only solution.
My kids grew up with social media but it was different back then. These days too
many get addicted to it and can't stay off it. I think there needs to be more
education from teachers and parents when children are of an age to start using
it. I also think giving kids other outlets helps as well like getting them
involved in sports so they want to get out of the house more to practice their
skills rather than using social media every spare minute.
Social media and its use is woven into teens lives, some more so than others.
Removing it is near impossible given the way things are - the best one can hope
for is to keep it under some control and even that is a war that cant be won
Unfortunately, most of those teens know exactly how to work around getting
parental permission and their parents wouldn't even know. Then there are parents
who won't say 'no' and give in. And, of course, banning makes something more
desirable!
Perhaps we should be educating children, pre teens, about the negative impacts
and hope that at least some of them take notice and are aware of the bad side of
social media and that it's a good idea to talk to someone if they are worried
about something.
social media in general can be useful & destructive at the same time,to expose
our youth to it is not necessary.Kids are being shown a world they are not
mature enough to deal with,even at 66 years old I am appalled sometimes at the
misinformation & comments from some people & factions.
I don't think social media is good thing for the kids, I think it holds back the
natural development of learning to openly express oneself and the related
attributes/skill development that this requires, such as confidence, courage,
and speech fluency.
Despite my thoughts about this, I think it's way too late for turning around now
and tying to stop or restrict the kids' access to social media. It cannot work,
and thinking about he consequences of it being implemented, it may cause many
more conflicts between parents and children, than some of the conflicts
occurring on social media that it is hoping to address.
I don't think kids should have social media, but nowadays most have phones and
easy access to it. Maybe young kids, particularly under 14, should just have
basic phones without access to it.
I just rechecked my account.
After a formal complaint to libertribe, whereas I was accused of receiving a
large proportion of my points to cash out, tho I made no attempt to cash out my
points at any stage, I now found my account points have been restored.
Very odd!
I have heard it mentioned up to 16 years.
The federal government is concerned.
If the parents don't do their job of parenting then it needs to be the
government.
Many parents esp mums seem addicted as well.
Not a personal concern for me as I do not have offspring.
No phones at school at any age, no phones or tablets /computers in children and
teens bedrooms and not at dining table or breakfast benches, and monitor your
kids use on internet sites. As adults your children will thank you as
adults..... DON'T GIVE IN!!!
Please checkout these two sites and what they say about this survey site.
It seems we are definitely wasting out time on here.
In recent times people are saying they never got paid.
Despite asking for payment most people said they didn't get paid.
One lady even said the survey companies are not paying libertine anymore.
Go to, (product review.com.au)
(Trustpilot.com)
I'm not kidding, but I had over 30,000+ points removed from account without
warning.
I didn't not attempt to cash out.
I'm waiting on a response from libertine.
I will not be doing any further surveys until then.
If you have actually been paid--yourself? In recent months, then that's great,
but it seems some haven't...and as I said, points were removed.
I know how some other survey-- sites work... and I can advise that they don't
normally take two months to pay you a evoucher or to PayPal.
Some said they received no payment.
I'm sorry if I upset anyone reading this...but this is the honest truth.
@MS. While I've never had any payment issues usually receiving the reward
requested within a couple of weeks I do wonder about the low payments received
for surveys and the number of points required to receive anything in return.
IIRC we used to need fewer points for a payout (maybe that's because of
inflation LOL)
