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Digital life
SUITABLE FOR 9-18 YEARS
SOCIAL MEDIA BENEFITS AND RISKS: CHILDREN AND TEENAGERS
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2.7kFound this helpful
Key points
* Social media is a big part of social and creative life for many teenagers and
children.
* Social media benefits include connection, learning and creativity.
* Risks include exposure to inappropriate content, cyberbullying and data
breaches.
* Written guidelines can help your child get benefits while using social media
responsibly, respectfully and safely.
ON THIS PAGE:
* About social media for children and teenagers
* Social media: benefits
* Social media: risks
* Managing social media risks for children and teenagers
* Setting up social media guidelines
ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA FOR CHILDREN AND TEENAGERS
Social media platforms popular among young people include Facebook, Twitter,
WhatsApp, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat and TikTok.
Online multiplayer games, like World of Warcraft, League of Legends, Clash of
Clans and The Sims are also important social media spaces for young people. And
gaming chat sites are popular ways for young people to connect with others who
share their particular gaming interests.
Using social media means uploading and sharing content. This includes:
* creating online profiles
* posting comments or chatting
* uploading photos and videos
* reacting to or ‘liking’ other people’s posts
* sharing links
* tagging photos and content
* creating and sharing game modifications
* remixing or changing existing content and sharing it.
Many social media platforms have age restrictions. For example, to have a
Facebook or Instagram account you need to be 13 years old.
SOCIAL MEDIA: BENEFITS
Social media is a big part of many young people’s social and creative lives.
Children and teenagers use social media to have fun, make and maintain
friendships, share interests, explore identities and develop relationships with
family. It’s an extension of their offline and face-to-face interactions. For
older teenagers especially, it’s often a key part of how they connect with
friends.
Social media can connect children and teenagers to online global communities
based on shared interests. These might be support networks – for example, for
young people with disability or medical conditions, LGBTQI teenagers, or
children from particular cultural backgrounds. Or they might be sites for
commenting on and sharing content about particular interests like games, TV
series, music or hobbies.
Your child can get many other benefits from using social media:
* Digital media literacy: exploring and experimenting on social media can help
your child build knowledge and skills to enjoy online activities and avoid
online risks.
* Collaborative learning: your child can use social media to share educational
content, either informally or in formal school settings.
* Creativity: your child can be creative with profile pages, photos and video,
and modifications for games.
* Mental health and wellbeing: connecting with extended family and friends and
taking part in local and global online communities can give your child a
sense of connection and belonging.
SOCIAL MEDIA: RISKS
Social media can also pose risks. For your child, these risks include:
* being exposed to inappropriate or upsetting content, like mean, aggressive,
violent or sexual comments or images
* uploading inappropriate content, like embarrassing or provocative photos or
videos of themselves or others
* sharing personal information with strangers – for example, phone numbers,
date of birth or location
* cyberbullying
* exposure to too much targeted advertising and marketing
* data breaches, like having their data sold on to other organisations.
MANAGING SOCIAL MEDIA RISKS FOR CHILDREN AND TEENAGERS
Talking about social media use
Talking is the best way to protect your child from social media risks and ensure
their internet safety. Talking gives you the opportunity to help your child:
* work out how they want to treat other people and be treated online – for
example, you can encourage your child to make only positive comments
* understand the risks involved in using social media – for example, your child
might be tagged in an embarrassing photo taken at a party
* learn how to navigate the risks – for example, if your child posts an
identifiable selfie, they can reduce risk by not including any other personal
information
* learn what to do if people ask for personal details, are mean or abusive
online, post embarrassing photos of your child, or share information that
links back to them.
Finding out more about social media
Social media platforms and functionality are always changing so it’s a good idea
to keep up to date with the social media your child uses. You could ask your
child what platforms are popular and which ones your child likes. You could also
get your child to show you how they work.
Thinking about age recommendations
Many social media platforms have age restrictions, which often aren’t enforced.
It can be tricky if your child’s friends are using social media platforms before
they’re old enough and your child wants to do the same.
If you want your child to wait, here are some options you could think about:
* Could you compromise? What if your child uses a family social media account
until they’re old enough for their own? This could give your child a way to
connect with friends with your help to navigate social media.
* Could your child use a child-friendly social media platform, like YouTube
Kids or Messenger Kids? These have stronger safety settings and
age-appropriate content.
What about banning social media?
Social media is becoming increasingly embedded in apps, games, websites and even
learning environments, so it’s hard to ban, even for younger children. And if
you ban social media, your child might be more tempted to check it out when
they’re away from home. This means you miss the opportunity to teach your child
how to navigate social media risks and behave respectfully on social media.
Internet safety for children aged 9-11 years and internet safety for teenagers
is about identifying and managing risks and also protecting your data and
privacy.
SETTING UP SOCIAL MEDIA GUIDELINES
Some written guidelines about social media can help your child get the benefits
of social media while using it responsibly, respectfully and safely. This
agreement could be part of a family media plan. If these guidelines include your
social media use as well as your child’s, you can be a positive role model.
Here are some things your guidelines could include.
Using social media
This might cover basics like:
* when it’s OK to use social media and how long your child can spend on social
media
* whether it’s OK to use social media during homework time, family meals and so
on
* where it’s OK to use social media – for example, only in family areas of the
house, not bedrooms.
Posting content and comments
It’s important for your child to agree to:
* not uploading or sharing inappropriate messages, images and video
* showing respect in posts and when sharing content – for example, if it’s not
OK to say or do something face to face, it’s not OK online
* seeking consent before posting images of others.
Protecting privacy
It’s a good idea to go through social media privacy guidelines and settings with
your child.
Your child can protect their privacy by agreeing to:
* not share personal information like phone numbers, location and date of birth
with strangers online, or with people they don’t know personally
* not add personal details like phone numbers or date of birth to private
profiles
* regularly check privacy and location settings, especially on mobile phones
* keep passwords and log-in details private and not share these with friends
* log out after using public computers
* disable features like posting to multiple social media sites at once.
Staying safe on social media
Safety essentials for your child include:
* blocking and reporting people they don’t know or people who post upsetting
comments or content
* not clicking on pop-ups – some pop-ups that seem safe can lead to pornography
sites or ask for personal or financial information
* accepting friend requests only from people whose identity they know
* taking screenshots of concerning things they see online, and talking to a
trusted adult about them.
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Acknowledgements
This article was developed in collaboration with Associate Professor Ingrid
Richardson, Digital Media Studies, Murdoch University.
References
Buckingham, D. (Ed.) (2008). Youth, identity, and digital media. Cambridge, MA:
MIT Press.
Dobson, A.S., & Ringrose, J. (2015). Sext education: Pedagogies of sex, gender
and shame in the schoolyards of tagged and exposed. Sex Education, 16(1), 8-14.
doi: 10.1080/14681811.2015.1050486.
Green, L., Brady, D., Ólafsson, K., Hartley, J., & Lumby, C. (2011). Risks and
safety for Australian children on the internet: Full findings from the AU Kids
Online survey of 9-16 year olds and their parents. Cultural Science Journal,
4(1), 1-73.
Nilan, P., Burgess, H., Hobbs, M., Threadgold, S., & Alexander, W. (2015).
Youth, social media, and cyberbullying among Australian youth: ‘Sick
friends’. Social Media + Society, 1(2). doi: 10.1177/2056305115604848.
Lincoln, S., & Robards, B. (2014). Being strategic and taking control: Bedrooms,
social network sites and the narratives of growing up. New Media & Society,
18(6), 927-943. doi: 10.1177/1461444814554065.
Livingstone, S., & Brake, D.R. (2010). On the rapid rise of social networking
sites: New findings and policy implications. Children & Society, 24(1), 75-83.
doi: 10.1111/j.1099-0860.2009.00243.x.
External links
* eSafety Commissioner – eSafety parents
* eSafety Commissioner – Be Deadly Online: Social media and privacy
Last updated or reviewed22-12-2020
2.7kFound this helpful
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