Why does your daughter want and apparently need a Smartphone?
Social media is the site of digital drama including cyberbullying and girl meanness. It is the cause of hyper-stimulation, screen addiction and body image concerns. Teens spend an average of 6 ½ hours per day on screens, tweens more than 4 ½ hours. This is almost as much time as they spend sleeping.
Lindsay Sealey (author), who spent 15 years as an educationist and consultant, has come up with strategies for adults to help limit the risks of social media and model and cultivate connections with their daughters in her book Growing Strong Girls: Practical Tools to Cultivate Connection in the Pre-teen Years.
The more Facebook is used the more likely it is that friends compare what is written as “best moments” not the worst moments. Youth, therefore, constantly think they come up short.
Two things to think about:
- Reduce the amount of social media and turn off the phone at night
- Learn critical thinking skills