Childhood Online

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

I am often asked “How to control a teenager on social networks?”, “How much time can a teenager spend on the Internet?”, “Should gadgets be banned?” Let's figure it out.

Why create an account on a social network? For communication. If you are reading this article, then, most likely, you are also spending time on the social network now. Communication is a vital need for a teenager. In the course of interaction with peers, a teenager builds an “image of himself”, forms his value orientations, and receives answers to important questions for him. Yes, communication at this age is really important, and not just “idle chatter”.

But not all children manage to communicate easily. Most adolescents face such difficulties as: a feeling of loneliness, lack of friends, difficulty in establishing contact, lack of confidence in communication.

Many teenagers ask themselves questions: how to be more confident and communicate easily? What if you are not accepted into the group? How to win the sympathy of other guys? Perhaps now these questions will seem insignificant to you, but through the eyes of a teenager, each question looks like a huge unknown world. Proven in hundreds of hours of teen counseling and training.

Now that we have answered the “why” question, we figure out what to do about it:

1. Agree on the use of gadgets: which gadgets, when, how long and for what purpose.

2. The child must be taught to communicate. It would seem - "he already knows how to do it perfectly, chatting all day." Few are born with a natural talent to cope with their emotions, resolve conflict situations and brilliant oratorical skills.

How to teach?

Demonstrate an example, organize a space for live informal communication with peers (there are many options: visits, trips, holidays, games, trainings, etc.). It is informal communication that, as a rule, is not enough for children who are busy with studies and additional activities. Many will say to this: “Let him do his homework first! And then he communicates informally”. Yes, let it be, just do not be afraid that the child will spend time in questionable groups on social networks (instead of doing homework).

3. Talk to your child, not be afraid to answer his questions. After all, if you do not answer, he will ask Google. Are you sure Google will answer the question better than you?

Of course, there are frightening, difficult questions that adults avoid discussing directly with children. In this case, you can say about your feelings: that you are now at a loss or you are also sad to think about it, thank the child for their trust (that he addressed this question first to you, and not to comrades or the Internet). And promise that you will definitely discuss it in a suitable setting (and keep the promise), or turn to the heroes of books or films and discuss them by their example. After all, the main thing is not your competence in this matter, but the very confidential communication.

The issues that we have now considered are, of course, ambiguous, and in each family these issues are resolved in different ways: someone decides, someone avoids or denies the existence of this problem.

The main thing that we wanted to say in this article is to approach this issue consciously. You may not be able to come to an agreement right away, and that's okay.

Write your questions in the comments and direct)