Social media: «You can't do without it either»
Even small children sometimes spend hours on their smartphone or tablet. Have you ever wondered what impact this could have on your child or are you worried about it? The new age of social media brings with it many dangers and uncertainties. As parents, you should definitely ask yourself at what age and under what conditions children should be given access to social media.
The greatest influence will be the age at which the child gets a smartphone. If a child is exposed to social media at a very young age, they can quickly become addicted to it. A child doesn't think as much about the consequences that their actions could have. Younger children in particular only see the good in social media and question things much less. Growing up with a smartphone can make it much harder to cope without one later in life, as a child's brain is constantly developing.
As I get older, I think more and more about how much time I spend on my smartphone and what impact this has.
Meret, 16 years old
Learning how to use social media
Why are there age restrictions for drugs such as alcohol, but not for smartphones? We don't yet know what the constant radiation from these devices does to us, and social media triggers dopamine like drugs. There is a reason why alcohol only becomes legal when the brain is almost fully developed.
On the other hand, you can also get a smartphone too late and not learn how to use social media. Later in life, you are then much less experienced with a device that plays a significant role in our generation.
However, the advantage of using a smartphone later in life would be that you know a lot more about it and you can also reflect on yourself from a certain age. I myself got my smartphone when I was twelve, which I now think was a good time in hindsight. It could have been a bit later, but when everyone has a smartphone, you quickly become marginalised without one.
Retract smartphone overnight
As I get older, I think more and more about how much time I spend on my smartphone and the impact this has. To help a child, you could introduce certain conditions. Firstly, the apps themselves, such as Instagram and Tiktok, could change something, such as introducing a time limit. If this came directly from the app, it would be much more difficult to circumvent. The one that already exists is very easy to circumvent.
Improved screen time would be a solution to the problem of hours to days of wasted time on the smartphone. It probably won't happen any time soon, because this is exactly how the apps make their money. As parents, you could, for example, switch off the smartphone overnight, as children sometimes watch videos undisturbed until late at night.
