How to steer kids through the social-media labyrinth, written by Geoff Johnson, appeared in the Times Colonist Aug 28/22.
Adult supervision is not always welcome by kids when it comes to steering them through the social media labyrinth. The Geoff Johnson article provides solid suggestions from experts on how to deal with the situation.
Article highlights
During the pandemic schools went remote and activities were cancelled. COVID variations forced kids and families indoors. That meant, for many kids, more screen time than ever before.
Adult vigilance is key when kids are navigating the complex work of social media. However, supervision is not always welcome by kids, which can be difficult.
Jim Steyer, an award-winning professor at Stanford University, has tracked trends in media use among tweens and teens since 2015. In the article Steyer and Keneisha Sinclair-McBride, a clinical psychologist at Boston Children’s Hospital, have some suggestions for how adults can structure conversations with kids about social-media use. Their advice: “The more parents can show that they are genuinely willing to listen, the more their kids will be willing to be open and honest with them.”
Dr. Khadijan Boothe Watkins, associate director of the Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds at Massachusetts General Hospital, provides advise on how to engage with social media in a healthy and safe manner eg. “Do you know what to do if someone is mistreating you or if you feel unsafe online?”
Read the article: How to steer kids through the social-media labyrinth
