Social Media Impact on Relationships
Too much social media use can stifle relationships at any age if there is not enough balance exercised in order to maintain meaningful face to face interaction. While social media can also encourage face to face interaction, most relationships are more satisfactory in person (in particular romantic and dating relationships).
As long as there is open communication and selectivity in content, social media does not have to be damaging. Otherwise, social media has been seen to lead to decreases in family cohesion and a sense of loss of parental control.
However, strict monitoring and rules such as these can push children and teens into withdrawal and make them feel they are not trusted. Foster a habit of open discussion with your child before they get too far into their individual use of technology and continue to openly mediate their content side by side, explicitly teaching them internet safety and common sense until you are sure they can wisely navigate the internet and social media on their own.
This is especially important because teens can be very susceptible to social media messages and peer pressure. Social media content often depicts perfected and cured images of everything from lifestyles to body types and promote the narrative that only those who align with the trendy and popular images are worthy individuals. Too much social media use is correlated with more depressive symptoms, short-term declines in subjective well-being, body dissatisfaction, and internalization of negative media messages.
Common Sense Media has internet safety courses for all ages K-12 which cover these issues! Proper education, open conversation, and loving parental presence can lead to children’s healthy social media usage.