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The Dangers of Technology & Social Media

The Dangers of Technology & Social media

With an ever-growing technological world, there is no doubt that technology could potentially pose a threat to children and their education. Statistics show that more than half of preadolescents use social media on their technological devices (Australian Communications and Media Authority 2012; Ofcom 2017). Research with adolescents and young adults suggests that more time spent on social media (e.g., Facebook and Instagram) can be linked with poorer body image (Fardouly and Vartanian 2016) and more depressive symptoms (McCrae et al. 2017). In addition to this, a number of studies have warned that excessive media use can lead to attention problems, school difficulties, sleep and eating disorders and obesity (AAP, 2006; Gingold, Simon & Schoendorf, 2014). Although this has been identified, it is also known that Passive social media use, which involves browsing other people’s online content, may decrease children wellbeing, whereas Active social media use, which involves posting content and interacting with others, may increase wellbeing (Lin et al., 2016). So, what can practitioners and adult do in order to make children’s social media encounters more Active?

First, let’s first understand why the use of Instagram can lead to poorer body image. Festinger (1954) identified the ‘Social Comparison Theory’. This theory suggests that people have a drive to determine their progress and whilst standing on different aspects of their lives people compare themselves to one another in order to do so. Many of us are guilty of naturally doing this, but that doesn’t make it healthy especially for children. As adults we have a greater emotional intelligence, Preadolescents who start comparing themselves to others and other things which may leave them feeling unsatisfied as they could be comparing to something that is potentially unreachable. 

Children are naturally influenced by their peers. However, Although peer influence becomes increasingly important for preadolescents, parents still play a central role in their lives (Eccles 1999). This is where the parental role becomes critical. Parents or caregivers can model good use of social media and technology and can take control over the time that they allow their children to spend on technology. In addition to this, practitioners and adults could use restrictive mediation methods by controlling what children are allowed to view. Restrictive mediation is a somewhat successful approach to controlling what children view and process on technology. However, literature such as Nathanson (2002) highlights that restrictive mediation can potentially create and increase conflict between children and adults. This is down to trust, if children are uneducated that what they are viewing could be harmful to them they could perceive adult’s restrictive mediation as a lack of trust. Therefore, creating an immediate disconnect between the adult and the child. 

There’s a range of videos and resources that practitioners, parents and children can view in order how to find out, how to be safe online. Take a look at this video below. The video provides TOP TIPS on how to stay safe while surfing the web and using social media. 


Reference list

-      McCrae, N., Gettings, S., & Purssell, E. (2017). Social media and depressive symptoms in childhood and adolescence: a systematic review. Adolescent Research Review, 2(4), 315–330.  
-      Fardouly, J., & Vartanian, L. R. (2016). Social media and body image concerns: current research and future directions. Current Opinion in Psychology, 9, 1–5.   
-      Australian Communications and Media Authority. (2012). Like, post, share: Young Australians’ experience of social media. Retrieved from https://www.acma.gov.au/-/media/mediacomms/Report/pdf/Like-post-share-Young-Australians-experience-of-social-media-Quantitative-research-report.pdf?la=en[Accessed 1 April 2019]
-       Ofcom. (2017). Children and parents: media use and attitudes report 2017. Retrieved from https://www.ofcom.org.uk/research-and-data/media-literacy-research/childrens/children-parents-2017[Accessed 1 April 2019] 
-       Lin, Ly, Sidani, J. E., Shensa, A., Radovic, A., Miller, E., Colditz, J. B., & Primack, B. A. (2016). Association between social media use and depression among U.S. young adults. Depression and Anxiety, 33(4), 323–331.

-       Gingold, J., Simon, A., & Schoendorf, K. (2014). Excess Screen Time in US Children. Clinical Pediatrics, 53(1), 41-50.
-       Festinger, L. (1954). A theory of social comparison processes. Human Relations, 7(2), 117–140
-       Eccles, J. S. (1999). The development of children ages 6 to 14. The Future of Children, 9(2), 30–44.  

-       Nathanson, A. I. (2002). The unintended effects of parental mediation of television on adolescents. Media Psychology, 4(3), 207–230.  

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