Are your kids online? It can be overwhelming at times keeping up with the latest social media platforms and making sure that everything they are posting is putting them forward in the best light. We have seen a lot of the negative stories of kids on social media but there are just as many good ones as well.
When should kids be allowed to be on social media?
I seriously recommend that kids don’t take part in social media until the age of 13, which is also the age most platforms like Snapchat allow kids to sign up.
Did you know that more kids are on social media now than ever before? According to a study conducted by Common Sense, in 2012, only 41% of teens had a smartphone. In 2018 that number more than doubled to 89%. With more kids on their devices, the numbers on social media has risen as well.
Where are your kids spending time?
Although we may be spending our time on Facebook, our kids – not so much. Facebook is declining among teens. Did you know that 96% of teens are on YouTube and that 72% of teens go on Instagram every day? With all of these platforms that you may or may not know about, how do you keep up?
For anything tech and kids, CommonSense.org is a great resource. They can help you get up to speed with the different places your kids may be online and break down what you should know.
So, Should We Be Monitoring our Kids Social Media Accounts?
In one word – YES! We absolutely need to monitor our kids on social media, but do we need to let it consume our entire lives? NO!
We can’t keep up with every platform – TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat – all the time. That’s why I am giving you some hacks to keep tabs on your kids’ social media accounts even when you aren’t looking.
3 Hacks for Monitoring Your Kids Social Media Accounts
The first hack is to set yourself a goal – one that is achievable. Some parents may aim for a quick check of their kids devices at night. Some may think once a week may be realistic. Of course, if you suspect anything concerning, you may do it sooner, but setting the goal to check in on a regular basis is the first step!
Check my other monitoring hacks on this video. Here I will give you some tricks to know what’s going on with your kids online without losing your mind.
Do you monitor your kids online? How often?
Speaking of social media – be sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube or ask me a question on www.askdoctorg.com.
4 thoughts on “3 Hacks for Monitoring Your Kids’ Social Media Accounts”
Super helpful, thanks. I’m going to ask D for a tour of YouTube and Roblox today – ask him to show me what’s new, what’s cool and exciting. I’d like to see why he follows those obnoxious dropout you-tubers – because clearly he sees something wonderful in them that I’m not seeing!
That’s a great way to approach it!
Hi
Do you recommend to follow your child on social media or to follow just his/hers followers. Not sure if I got it right.
Thanks
Eva
I do recommend following your kids on social media! Following their friends is less useful and also can be a lot more socially awkward for your child.
Comments are closed.