The social networking platforms have successfully acquired the dedication of younger children, teens and even adults. While these socializing platforms were introduced to connect people, these are being misused by scoundrels to victimize children on a larger level. The teens and tweens who spend most of the waking hours using online platforms are vulnerable to several potential dangers. From cyberbullying to child predation, our children are likely to expose to several horrible consequences in the social media world. This article discusses the dangers of social media for teens and the ways to protect them from these endangerments.
Dangers of Social Media for Teens
Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram and WhatsApp are among the most popular social media platforms being used by millions of people across the world. While these platforms are means of communication and entertainment, these are also safe haven for online crimes. Read on to know more about the most potential dangers of the social media for teenagers.
Cyberbullying
The online bullying is the most common cyber threat influencing millions of social media users worldwide. The use of electronic means to repeatedly harass, offend or humiliate someone is referred as cyberbullying. The bullies use social media platforms to make fun of the target keeping their identity hidden. The photo and video sharing site Instagram is one of the biggest platforms providing safe haven to bullies. They can make humiliating and offending comments on the target’s posts and also send harassing messages.
Online Child Predation
The adult social media users posing to be a teenager to target other teens can be an online child predator. The only purpose of these predators is to sexually exploit teen boys and girls. They first trap the target with flattery and attention. Once the target enters into a romantic relationship, they use them to produce stuff related to child pornography.
Sexting
The platforms like Snapchat promote sexting by providing self-deleted messages. The teen boys and girls consider it most secure platform for exchanging sexually explicit stuff because whatever you exchange via Snapchat gets deleted seconds after being viewed by the receiver. Many other social media apps are being used for sexting and exchanging explicit photos and videos.
Suicidal & Self-Harm Activities
The social media platforms are promoting self-harm activities among teens. The suicidal games like Blue Whale challenge and many other self-harm activities have been promoted through social platforms.
Narcissism and Peer Pressure
The social media has promoted several psychological issues among teens and narcissism is the one. Teens love posting every single moment of their life on social media sites and this can have, sometimes, horrible consequences. Also, the peer pressure is there to stay connected to the dangerous online world.
How to Protect Teens from Social Media Dangers
Parents can protect their children from the social media dangers by taking following measures. Get your kids learn the responsible and secure use of social media platforms and monitor their usage to ensure protection.
Promote Responsible Social Media Use
Frequent discussion and conversation can help your kids learn the secure use of social media platforms. Educate them about the dangers of these online platforms and get them learn how to avert these dangers. Also, demonstrate responsible digital behavior to help your kids learn secure social media usage.
Social Media Privacy & Safety
Every social media site offers some sort of privacy and security settings. Make sure your kids understand and use these settings. Also, do not allow your kids to use age-inappropriate social media apps. For example, you can ask your tweens to wait until they reach maturity to use dating social media app like Tinder.
Social Media Monitoring
It is significant to keep eyes on the social media activities of teens and tweens. Currently, it is not enough to follow your kids on social media platforms. The kids know several tricks to conceal their objectionable activities from parents. As a solution, parents can use monitoring software to secretly and remotely track social media activities of their children.
TheOneSpy social media monitoring app allows parents to spy on commonly used social and instant messengers including Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, Tinder, WhatsApp, Skype, Hike, Hangout, Telegram, Zalo, Yahoo messenger, Kik and many other social media and communication apps. The spy software enables parents to track every single social media activity of their kids to ensure their online safety.
Author Bio
Cathy is a school teacher and digital parental geek, She's also content writer and editor at TheOneSpy. She reads and writes excessively on subjects such as computer and mobile tips, software reviews, protecting oneself from the dangers of the online world especially targeting child protection and the guidelines for using different cellular applications.
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