Therapy Helps
The world we live in today is exposed to the public like never before. Leave the possibility aside of the random pervert stalking you on social media. I’m talking about people you invite into your social circle - the so called friends in your network.
How safe is your social network? Does everyone in your social network understand your thought process? Do you trust everyone in your social network? Do you ask yourself these questions before you post or share something online? You should!
What would you say if you knew that every word that came out of your mouth will be instantly heard by every single person in your social network? That every picture you share can be accessed not just by your social network but by the so called ‘friends of friends’ - the circle of your social circle. If this idea sounds far fetched then you may not have been paying enough attention to the ‘reality of social media networking’.
I’ve seen people shattered by social media sharing gone WRONG. Most did not intend for their post or share to get so out of hand. Hashtag cyberbullying. The population most at risk - children and teenagers!
Children and teenagers do not have the resources or capability to defend and protect themselves. They suffer, often in silence, for fear of loss of face in front of family and friends; but more often because they fear loss of privileges.
If it seem like your teenager acts in an impulsive way sometimes and does not understand completely when you try and explain future consequences - well there’s a biological reason for it - their brain is working on developing enough maturity to help connect every action to possible consequences. This process is further hindered by the ‘amount of exposure’ each adolescent receives. Exposure that comes from opportunities given to use their own brain, to make choices, to reason, to Fail!
So this post is not directed towards the teenagers, though it doesn’t hurt for them to read it. This post is directed at the parents, the guardians. Most parents are not aware of the extent of the potential danger of over-sharing on social media - they might even be over-sharing themselves. In essence teaching their kids that over-sharing on social media is ok. So if you are a parent reading this post I would advise you to scroll up to the top and ask those questions of yourself. Because if you do not monitor the content you share, and limit time spent on social media for yourself - is it really fair to ask that of your kids?
I can share multiple examples of how all the social networking sites have been used to cause harm. But you’ve probably heard it before or if you haven’t, theres plenty of content out there for you to do some personal research. Cyberbullying and self-harm perpetrated through social media is a growing concern.
But I didn’t write this post to incite fear of social media. The reality of our world today is that to a certain extent all of us live our life online!. There are multiple advantages of social media. People have gotten into colleges, gotten jobs, started campaigns for the community and increased awareness for themselves and others.
So how can we move forward as the online world grows in importance and capacity. How can we protect ourselves and our kids while reaping the benefits of an ‘online presence’. We can do this by teaching our kids early on ‘the art of social media marketing’. Help them understand that their social media profile is like a painting of themselves that they can show and share with everyone. Like that photograph that is appreciated by their fiends and the grown ups in their life. Teach them that no matter how much they want it to be - nothing on social media is private. That there are never guarantees that the content they share will not end up in the wrong place. Its like the secrets that they will not share until they discern a person to be trustworthy. Well…social media is not trustworthy. But it is useful. So use it to your advantage. Be Careful and Be Aware!
