Typical conversation: 10 year old daughter: “I want texting on my phone.” Me: “You’re not getting it right now.” 10 year old: “Everyone else has it. Why can’t you just get unlimited texting?” Me: “I could care less about everyone else. You’re not getting it right now. End of story.” If this conversation sounds familiar and you can relate, can I get an amen?
I am sure this dialogue is pretty typical in any home where a pre-teen or teen resides. My husband and I debated a long time before our daughter was given an email address, allowed to Skype, or get a mobile phone. With each of those technical capabilities, our watch-dog awareness was sharpened. We understood the potential hazards these communication methods could bring. However, I am not sure we realized just how out of control these teen dialogues had become.
For example, cyberbullying is the number one growing problem in schools. Cyberbullying is the deliberate use of digital media to communicate false, embarrassing or hostile information about another person. This type of harassment can occur to any teen and can lead to many psychological sequelae such as depression, anxiety, severe isolation, or suicide.
One extreme example occurred in 2006. Megan Meier, 13, in October 2006 committed suicide after a former friend’s mother created a phony profile and began bullying Mega via the web. In 2009, a Wisconsin 17 year old boy was charged with possessing child pornography for posting pictures of his 16 year old ex-girlfriend online. Several other states have similar examples of sexting charges as well.
If you were born before 1970, you may be asking yourself: “What is sexting?” Sexting is the act of sending or receiving sexually explicit texts or pictures via the cell phone, computer or other digital device. Many of the teens who are engaging in these activities, find nothing wrong with it. They send it to one friend who then forwards it on to others. Before you know it, that picture has gone viral and is all over the school. For some schools, that behavior is grounds for suspension.
Another recently described experience is Facebook depression. This condition is defined as depression that develops when preteens and teens spend a great deal of time on social media sites, such as Facebook, and then begin to exhibit classic symptoms of depression. An important part of preteen and teen life is social acceptance. Therefore, if negative information is being transmitted or if no one “likes” their recently posted photo, this could lead to social isolation.
Other issues that parents must keep in mind are their teen’s digital footprints and the influence of advertisements on buying practices. The improper use of technology can result in a lack of privacy. For example, in the news recently was a company asking for the Facebook password of their employees. The posting of inappropriate messages, videos, or pictures may affect future college admittance or employment. In addition, there are companies that target people on the basis of their web browsing behavior or on the basis of a specific demographic such as age or gender. This may affect the teens buying habits and may alter their views on what is normal.
However, I don’t want us to think that all social media is bad. For example, Barack Obama would probably not be president if young people had not utilized Twitter, Facebook, and email. Social media allows individuals to connect locally and globally. It is not uncommon for children to perform homework or science projects via video chats now. Some research has even shown that it improves communication, social interaction, and technical abilities.
Social media becomes problematic because children do not know how to self-regulate themselves. They are easily led into unhealthy relationships, conversations, or possibly abuse. Parents are usually unaware because they lack a clear understanding of these various social modalities.
Therefore, The American Academy of Pediatrics offers these helpful tools to parents:
- Talk to your children and adolescents about their online use and the potential dangers
- Become more educated about current technologies
- Devise an online use plan
- Develop a system for supervising online activities
For more information, visit the AAP internet safety site at safetynet.aap.org.
Yours in service,
Denise Hooks-Anderson, M.D.
Assistant Professor
SLUCare Family Medicine
yourhealthmatters@stlamerican.com
