Page 5 - H43029_Navicent_Health_final
P. 5
KNOWLEDGE
psychologist at the Autism and Development Center, Navicent To encourage healthy, balanced social media use, you can:
Health. “Addiction affects a significant aspect of life, such as »» Create social media blackout zones and times. You can
relationships, academics or work. Very few people would actually
be considered to have social media addiction because they don’t ban social media use at the dinner table, in the bedroom,
meet those criteria.” during family functions and after a certain time of night. For
example, Dr. Johns prohibits his teenagers from using social
Much more common is social media overuse, according to media after 10 p.m.
Christy Peterson, MD, pediatrician at Beverly Knight Olson »» Discourage over-sharing. Information posted online is
Children’s Hospital and Children’s Health Center, Navicent Health. difficult—if not impossible—to delete. Counsel your children
That can have a variety of consequences for children’s mental against sharing personal details or images they wouldn’t want
health. others to know or see.
»» Encourage your children to be selective about their online
“Friends’ pictures and posts may make children feel inadequate friends. They should only “friend” people they know.
or less worthy by comparison,” Dr. Peterson says. “They may not »» Place a premium on privacy. Only you and your children’s
understand that people post only the best of themselves on social friends should be able to see their social media accounts. Be sure
media. Children may experience fear of missing out, which is they use privacy settings accordingly.
natural but can become overwhelming. Overuse may lead to anxiety »» Promote kindness. Encourage your children to be positive and
and depression.” respectful in their interactions on social media.
»» Use technology to your advantage. “If your internet provider or
Too much time on social media can also expose children to mobile carrier offers a service that allows you to keep tabs on
cyberbullying or inappropriate advertisements. They may be the sites your children are visiting and how much time they’re
tempted to share images or information that shouldn’t be public. spending on them, use it,” Dr. Peterson says. “I get a weekly
The effects of social media overuse aren’t all mental and emotional, report for my family, and it’s always interesting to see the times
though—it can harm physical health, too, by disrupting sleep and of peak internet use.”
cutting into time that could be spent being active.
GROWN-UP PROBLEMS
Dr. Johns says signs of social media overuse include:
»» Avoiding face-to-face contact with friends and family Adults can struggle with social media overuse, too, and
»» Decreased physical activity may experience many of the same health consequences as
»» Difficulty sleeping young people, including poor sleep, anxiety and depression.
»» Rapid decline in school performance Modeling healthy social media and digital device use is an
»» Weight gain important step to protect your children, but they aren’t the
only ones who benefit.
BOUNDARY MARKERS
“You can’t tell your children to not use their smartphones at
Dr. Peterson encourages parents to be proactive about setting the dinner table and then use yours,” Dr. Johns says. “You have to
social media rules rather than waiting until signs of overuse follow your own rules. If they’re good for your children, they’re
emerge. One way is by creating a social media contract. This good for you, too.”
document can define expectations for children, such as not
providing personal information online. The contract can also IF YOU’RE CONCERNED ABOUT YOUR CHILD’S
stipulate that parents will have access to their children’s SOCIAL MEDIA USE, A PEDIATRICIAN OR PEDIATRIC
social media accounts while also respecting their privacy, as PSYCHOLOGIST CAN HELP. TO FIND ONE, VISIT
appropriate. Experts debate when it’s appropriate for children WWW.CHILDRENSHOSPITALNH.ORG/PHYSICIANS.
to open their first social media account—age 12 is common—
but parental involvement and oversight are important
throughout the teen years.
TUMBLR REDDIT After FACEBOOK INSTAGRAM PINTEREST LINKEDIN ADULTS WHO
YouTube, DON’T USE ANY
9% 7% 69% 37% 28% 27% FORM OF SOCIAL
adults
NONE OF THE ABOVE, favor: SNAPCHAT TWITTER WHATSAPP REDDIT MEDIA
INCLUDING YOUTUBE
24% 22% 20% 11% 28%
3%
5WINTER 2019 | navicenthealth.org