Teens and Technology – Should Parents Monitor Their Kids?

Parenting today’s digital kids is one of the most difficult tasks. Sometimes, you think you are on the right track with them but at the same time, something goes off and you find yourself in square one again. Teenage is a difficult period and parenting has become hard these days. Luckily, technology has introduced several ways for teens to get through this phase. They can seek help, share with others, play games with friends, and do much more. Where it is great to be able to do so many things, teens don’t tend to think about the possible dangers that might be accompanying them online.

Where kids enjoy their time and try to get the best out of technology, parents need to take care of the dangerous part. Kids won’t understand the possibility of being in danger while doing something that pleases them, but parents must know what risks are associated with the use of digital media. As the awareness kicks in, parents are on the verge of searching for Android spy software to monitor their kids and see if they are on the right track.

Risks Associated with Digital Media

Yes, teens can talk to their friends, posts their current emotions and get help, share with others, and do a lot of things on digital media. But, this all can lead to a danger zone as well. Before you think that you are invading their privacy and they have the right to be left alone, here are some of the possible dangers that your kid can encounter while you are giving them the freedom:

Sharing Private Information

Kids are innocent and often they seek love and compassion around them. Digital media is a platform where they can meet new people and share their feelings with them. While adults can think of it as a wrong act, but kids surely enjoy this a lot. On the account of making new friends and getting all the attention they seek, they often end up sharing too much information. Either they give their personal information on their profiles or they share with them via chat. Either way, this can be proven dangerous for them. Someone can use that information against them.

Cyberbullying

You might think of cyberbullying as a minor issue and something that your brave kid can handle. But, if you look around, you will see the cases of kids who tried to commit suicide because of the humiliation and embarrassment they faced on media through cyberbullying. Cyberbullying has taken many shapes and in every way, it is very dangerous for your kid. Of course, you can teach them how to handle these things but only if you know what sort of cyberbullying are they facing.

For more awareness: https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-cyber-bullying

Relationships

Relationships become hard to handle when it comes to real life, but it is very easy to say pleasing words and share emotions through social media where you are not facing the other person. Kids find these very convenient and easy to make new relationships via social media. These relationships grow fast and end up real fast as well. It usually leaves the kids in despair and stress, which can further lead to depression.

Anxiety

If your kid doesn’t have anxiety, he/she might become the victim now. The social media becomes the platform where they share almost everything with other people. While they share their life, kids also see other people sharing theirs. People show their lifestyle in such a glittery manner that it makes the innocent kids think whether they have a good lifestyle or not. Whatever they share, they want everyone’s likes and appreciation. It can lead to anxiety in them as they don’t always get what they want there.

Social Isolation

Kids can become so much indulged in their digital life that they hardly think that their real social life is important too. They become so quiet and inattentive in their real-life that it becomes alarming for the parents. They are often seen avoiding social gatherings and keep themselves busy in their mobile phones all the time. Whether you see them at night, during dinner, or family time, they will be seen using their mobile phones all the time. They don’t even participate in any conversation. This is an alarming situation for parents as it can lead to permanent social isolation where they won’t even have the confidence to participate in anything.

Depression

When kids see other people sharing their lives in the most glamorous and glittery way, they end up thinking that they lack many things in their lifestyle. They start feeling pity for themselves and look up to those people who are faking to get people to like them. Kids don’t understand these things and they often fall into depression thinking that they don’t have anything. They compare their lives with others and feel despair.

What Can Parents Do?

Now you must know that you need to take care of your kids while they are using social media. Technology is in no way safe for them especially when they are using it excessively. You must monitor their acts and see what is going on with them on social media because they often don’t tell you these things. Just because kids don’t share with their parents, they often end up facing a lot of troubles.

First of all, parents need to make sure their kids know that they can share anything with them. Encourage them to come to you whenever they face any issue. Secondly, parents need to monitor their kids with the best possible tools to make sure nothing is missed. You can even search for the best free hidden spy apps for Android to use the best app to keep a check on your kids. The more you know about their social media usage, the more you can help them handle the hard parts in the best manner. It is all about being there for them and teaching them to be the best.