While social media can help children in their development, it also comes with certain risks, such as cyberbullying on TikTok and anxiety. This is why parents need to monitor their children’s social media use and critically review the content they see. In this article, we discuss the role of parental guidance in managing children's social media use.

How Parents Can Manage Children's Social Media Use

In recent years, there have been growing concerns over the role of social media in affecting mental health. Here are ways in which parents can monitor their children’s use of social media:

Monitoring and Discussing Social Media Use

Social media helps shape public opinion, including that of teens. This also means it can be a toxic space for children exposed to adult or harmful content. Parents need to monitor their children's use of social media closely. The monitoring should not only be about the type of content they watch but also checking other facets, such as limiting their time on social media. Parents should also discuss the safe use of social media with their children. They should explain to kids the dangers of social media platforms and the importance of moderate social media use.

Patents should also limit their kids' social media chat function, especially when dealing with strangers. If the kids using the phone are younger teens, they can limit the use of social media to when the parents are at home so that they can closely monitor their activities. If parents don’t monitor the content their children watch on social media, they can expose them to content that could be potentially harmful. 

Parents should also discuss their feelings on how different social media works with their kids each week so that they can feel safe sharing their experiences without the fear of getting judged. They can ask them about the content they view and their understanding of the posted content. They can also ask some hypothetical questions to enable them to understand how they respond to certain situations when they encounter them online.

Be a Role Model for Healthy Social Media Use

According to research studies, teens copy the social media behaviors of their parents. If a parent has unhealthy social media behavior, kids are also likely to copy it. To be a good role model in the safe use of social media, you can avoid using social media where the dinner table is set. Any conversation about social media should reflect your feelings about social media. Some of the things that parents should discuss with their children are:

• Why and how they use social media.
• Their limits on social media usage.
• The need to take breaks from social media.

You can also agree on taking social media holidays as families. During that time, you can discuss the temptations and challenges you experience when you are away from social media for some time.

Check for Signs of Problematic Social Media Use

Parents should be keen to watch if their children are using social media excessively. Some of the signs that your kids may be using social media in an unhealthy way include:

• Social media interferes with children's daily commitments and routines, such as homework, friendship, hobbies, and school.
• They prefer to be on social media rather than in-person interactions.
• They aren't sleeping for at least 8 hours because of social media.
• They hardly engage in their regular physical activities.
• They cannot stop using mobile phones even when they desire to stop.
• They intensely crave social media.
• They can use deception or lies to spend more time on social media.

If you have noted any of the above statements, you can discuss them with your kids. If you feel that they are becoming dependent on social media or using it unsafely, you can enforce limits on the technology. If you feel the problem is getting out of hand, you can engage a mental health professional to speak to your child.

Setting Social Media Limits and Boundaries

Before allowing your teens to join social media, you must set boundaries and limits on what they can do. They should be informed of the consequences if they do not follow the rules. Some experts suggest that parents and teens can also set up social media contracts to set the rules for both parties to sign. This can offer a sense of responsibility and trust, enabling teens to use social media responsibly. Some of the rules that parents can have in place include:

• Only create accounts for children who are of legal age.
• Not using their real names on social media.
• Limit the times of the day when they can use social media or even in which spaces.
• Avoid sharing personal information such as addresses and phone numbers.
• Ask for the consent of the parent before they post their photo.
• Ask for the consent of other parties before they tag them.
• Only accept friend requests from the people they know in real life.
• Not posting when in a particular location to maintain privacy and safety. This is particularly important due to security concerns in an environment where social media privacy concerns have led to the banning of TikTok in the U.S.
• Using passwords and ensuring that they are regularly changed.
• Respecting other users and not cyberbullying them.
• Avoid posting things that may embarrass them, their parents, college administrators, future bosses, etc.
• Setting their social media accounts to the highest level of privacy settings.
• Avoid meeting their online connections in person.

Should Parents Access Their Children’s Social Media Accounts?

According to experts, parents should have access to their children’s social media accounts. A study by Pew Research shows that 60% of parents check their children’s social media accounts. On top of that, 35% of parents maintain the password to at least one of their children's social media accounts.

While accessing your children’s social media accounts is essential, getting full control of their social media accounts can reduce their independence and privacy. This can reduce the level of trust between parents and children. A good way of handling the issue is following your children's social media accounts and occasionally going through their accounts on their devices.

Final Thoughts

Social media can be a minefield for children, with many possible risks and side effects. This is why parents need to guide their children in social media usage. They can do this by conversing about the right use of social media platforms and managing the accompanying risk and security settings. If their kids are teens, they should set social media rules for them to follow. Find out from our guide if TikTok is safe for children.