Safer Internet Day 2015: Parents say social media a mixed blessing for kids

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Today is this year’s Safer Internet Day, which promotes the safe and responsible use of online technology among young people.

To mark the date, we wanted to find out more about what parents think about their children’s use of social media. The new research, summarised below, looked at the impact of social technologies on overall wellbeing and found a range of interesting insights, highlighting both the benefits and the challenges of children’s exposure to social networks.

In particular:

• Parents are positive about social media’s effects: making new friends (27%), feeling more included (23%) and feeling more confident (18%) topped the list of children’s experiences with social media.
• However, there is still need to exercise caution. One in four (24%) parents stated their child is unhappier since using social media and almost a third (31%) admitted their child had been upset by something they had seen on a social media site.
• More than four in ten parents (42%) don’t set any form of time limit on their child’s internet use.

Here are Knowthenet’s top tips for parents whose children are active on social media:

• Be open with your child about social media sites and listen to any problems they may be having.
• Instil time limits on internet usage. If possible avoid allowing smartphones and laptops in the bedroom and keep them in communal spaces.
• Check the privacy settings of your child’s social networking sites to ensure they aren’t oversharing information or exposed to anything they shouldn’t be.
• Educate yourself. It’s important to know how these sites work in case of a problem and remember to check the policies of social networking sites: both Facebook and Twitter have age limits of 13.
• Set a good example yourself! If you are constantly checking and updating social media sites it sends a message to children that they should be doing the same.

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