How much screen time do your kids get each day?
Tablets, smartphones, gaming consoles, and computers: most kids from the ages of 8 to 12 have access to one or more of these gadgets at any given time. It’s no wonder this same age group spends about 4 to 6 hours a day online. More startlingly, our teens are spending a whopping 9 hours a day watching or interacting online, and that number grows each year.
Nearly all (95%) teens aged 13-17 use social media, and nearly a third use it “almost constantly.”
Although internet access can be a great help in developing and educating teens and preteens, it can also be dangerous if we are not paying attention.
What Apps Are Our Kids Using?
Your kids spend almost as much time using social media each day as they spend learning in school. What are kids doing online?
The most widely used platforms among US teens include:
- YouTube
- TikTok
- Snapchat
According to PEW research, nearly 1 in 5 teens report being on YouTube and TikTok “nearly constantly,” while 70% of teens report visiting Snapchat and Instagram daily.
But that’s not the only thing teens are doing online.
While the majority of teens are using social media apps for entertainment and connection, 85% of teens report say they play online video games — and half of them do so daily.
72% of teens who play video games say they play them to spend time with others. And 47% have even made a friend online from playing.
What do social media and online gaming have in common? They both allow interaction with almost anyone—even people you have never met.
Online Risks: Cyberbullying, Peer Pressure & Drug Use
All of this screen time increases risks for our kids.
Cyberbullying is pervasive in the online space.
- 80% of all teens think harassment over video games is a problem for people their age.
- 44% of all internet users have experienced harassment online.
- Name-calling is the most common form of cyberbullying.
- Kids are most likely to be bullied on YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok, and Facebook.
Cyberbullying Leads to 4,500 Teen Suicide Deaths Per Year
The impact of cyberbullying can be severe. Research shows that children who experience cyberbullying are twice as likely to attempt suicide as non-bullied peers. 20% of teens and tweens who are cyberbullied consider suicide, while 10% actually attempt it. The result is approximately 4,500 teen suicide deaths per year.
Online Peer Pressure Negatively Impacts Mental Health
Research has shown that peer pressure is a significant driving force behind teen social media addiction. Once online, peer pressure continues to influence kids from social media platforms, where unrealistic views of other people’s lives lead to comparisons, unrealistic expectations, insecurities, and increased mental health issues.
Declining teen mental health has been linked to increases in substance use, deaths from overdoses, and suicide.
Social Media Rewards Risky Behavior
It wasn’t that long ago when parents were wondering why teenagers everywhere were consuming laundry detergent pods, a poison that can burn throats, damage airways, and lead to seizures or even death.
Social media can make teens more vulnerable to substance use, alcohol use, risky behavior, and violence.
Including dangerous social media challenges widely adopted by teens.
Studies explain a two-step process where risky behavior is likely to be adopted and continued by teens.
- First, a teenager views “likes” or comments on a peer’s (or influencer’s) social post as an indication of socially desirable behavior. This phenomenon is known as “behavioral display.”
- Next, a teen mimics this socially desirable behavior and receives immediate feedback in the form of likes or comments. This is known as “behavioral reinforcement.”
Social media provides the perfect environment for this two-step process, allowing teens to be influenced by the behaviors of their peers, find new behaviors to adopt and continue, and receive immediate feedback that rewards conforming to peer behavior.
Teens are more likely to drink alcohol and use marijuana if their friends post about it on social media platforms like Snapchat and Instagram. Find out how to prevent teen substance abuse.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) is so concerned about the role that social media plays in the buying and selling of illicit drugs that it released a parental reference guide decoding the emojis typically associated with online drug deals. See “Emoji Drug Code Decoded” by the DEA here.
Keeping Kids Safe Online
Making sure our kids are safe while online is a constant battle of keeping up with the newest and best safeguards and technology. Trying to safeguard our children can seem overwhelming with so many different devices, apps, and social networking sites.
Here are a few ways to monitor and restrict your child’s online activity to help keep them safe.
Set Controls Across Networks, Devices, and Platforms
Parental controls are available across networks, devices, and apps.
You can visit InternetMatters.org for detailed information on setting parental controls for devices such as smartphones and tablets, broadband and mobile networks, gaming platforms, and search platforms.
Parental Control Apps
Many parental control apps can offer you even more control over your teen’s online activities, including social media monitoring. The top-rated parental control apps offer features such as:
- App management
- App usage history reports
- Texting history reports
- Screen-time management
- Content filter
- Website blocker
More Ways to Help Protect Our Kids
Helping kids navigate the perils of online safety takes more than setting parental controls. Online safety can play a role in protecting their mental health, preventing substance use, and avoiding risky behaviors.
- Talk with your kids about who they interact with while on social media or gaming devices.
- Have conversations about bullying and encourage them to talk with you if they feel threatened.
- Make sure their screen name doesn’t reveal any personal information, especially their real name, birthday, or address.
- Check the games they are playing. Get familiar with them and their ratings.
- Check their friend list on their social media accounts.
Obviously, technology is a necessity in our world, and it continues to get more and more advanced. It can become increasingly difficult to keep up with all the newest gadgets, making it even harder for parents and guardians to keep kids safe.
Your kids are growing up in a digital world, which presents an entirely new set of parenting challenges. The best thing you can do to protect your children from online risks is to stay vigilant. Have honest talks with your kids, set up safeguards and protocols, and stay persistent. You may not be able to protect them entirely from every online risk, but you can give them the tools to navigate through social media safely.
This blog has been updated for 2024 with new insights and data to help parents keep kids safe online.
