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Social Media for children: Tips and Tricks for Responsible Usage.
Technology and the Internet are no longer the luxuries as they used to be 2 decades ago. Today, everyone has access to electronic devices such as laptops, smartwatches, mobile phones, etc. with the latest configurations with high-speed internet, aiding access to every source of information and entertainment at the click of a button.
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With the recent advent of social media, the world has become a smaller place as communications happen at the speed of light. Everyone has various social media accounts which are used for multiple purposes such as entertainment, communication, ads, education, etc. However, every boon has a downside and is subject to misuse which can be disruptive or a hindrance to our daily lives.
Social media has some downsides to it doesn"t mean we have to reject it entirely. When used responsibly it will be helpful to us in a lot of ways. Here are some of the tips for responsible social media use.
Assess your usage:
With the unlimited source of entertainment and information, our mobile and social media usage has reached a point of saturation. Endless hours of mindless scrolling through different social media platforms smother productivity and creativity. Therefore, it is essential to assess the purpose of using social media. Granted that social media today plays a key role in various sectors but we must filter out what our need is and mend the usage as per that.
Set Limits:
It is understandable that considering how social media works today, it cannot be entirely avoidable. As a continuation of the first point, we need to assess our usage and the necessity of why we are using social media. Based on our usage we must set a cap on the screen time and the amount of usage. Remember, hours of mindless scrolling and screen time have been proven to be hazardous to physical and mental health.
Maintain Privacy:
As many teenagers and youngsters are using social media as a medium for clout, such blatant display of our personal lives on social media is unnecessary and dangerous to a great extent. Oversharing of private information on social media is dangerous as it poses a security threat to oneself. Therefore, it is advised that private and sensitive information such as phone numbers, home addresses, security pins, etc. should not be shared on public platforms like social media.
Keep it real:
Many teenagers, youngsters and influencers are posing a pretentious image to garner attention. While it may gain some traction for a little time but once the charade is exposed, it won"t take much time to block the account and probably be charged with imprisonment if any form of fraudulent activity is found. Therefore, to avoid getting tangled up in legal issues, it is best to be genuine about your content niche. Social media is a great tool to share information and have a great reach, therefore, be sincere and honest about your content and keep it ethical.
Learn to differentiate:
It"s amazing to meet new people and collaborate with those with whom you have interacted online, however, those interactions should be limited only to a surface level and not get anywhere personal. Youngsters and teenagers should be wary of interacting with strangers and ensure that they don"t share personal information to such an extent that it poses a potential threat to their lives. We must also understand the difference between online friends and real friends, therefore certain boundaries must be set with the people with whom we interact online to ensure our safety.
Utilize social reporting policies:
In social media, there are several cases of online bullying, trolling, phishing and even identity theft, these are unethical and should be reported immediately. Social media platforms do not tolerate issues like these and have a policy of banning the accounts that cause such havoc. Therefore, we must get familiar with such reporting policies that social media platforms provide.
Social Media has been a boon to many and its advantages cannot be ignored. However, on an individual front, there are certain dangers it poses from psychological to security levels. Therefore, it is necessary that we base our usage of social media on our needs rather than for the sake of our entertainment.