“Smart phones and social media expand our universe. We can connect with others or collect information easier and faster than ever (Goleman 2013). Since its launch in August 1991, the Internet has erratically changed the life of humanity, and although it can be perceived as somewhat revolutionary, in the sense that individuals can communicate globally using Social Media and discover information in an instant, its effects and influences on children are considerably questionable. Starting with Social Media use, including its positives and negatives aspects, this essay will delve into the issues children face today in the modern world.
Today, a child’s waking hours are dominated by two main factors that encompass their lifestyles: schooling and electronic media. So, it is plausible to make the statement that as a result it will undoubtedly influence their development, both psychologically and physiologically, highlighting this neatly is an idea that ‘The Children’s Rights Report 2014’ published, stating that children view digital citizenship as being “fundamental to their well-being” (Mitchell 2014).
From a previously book-dependent society pre-1991, humanity has now developed into the realm of the “Electronic Age” whereby children, mainly those born in the 21st century, are experiencing an era branded the “Digital Childhood”. Recent statistics have found more than half (55%) of children aged 3-4 use a digital tablet for entertainment, and that children and individuals on the verge of adolescence (5-15) spend approximately 15 hours each week using Social Media and the Internet (Ofcom 2016).
As a social construct, Social Media enables individuals to communicate through various platforms, these include Email, Instant Messaging (IM), Blogs, Public Forums, and with the emergence in popularity of websites like Facebook and Twitter. All of which allow children to participate, construct and communicate using their own online environments (Greenfield & Yan, 2006).
Arguably, using the platform of Social Media, children can portray themselves in such a light that they may not feel comfortable to when in the presence of their peers, whether that would be in their day-to-day schooling life, or in extreme cases in the presence of close family members and even parents. Therefore, communication and accessibility across various Social Media networks can allow children to fight against their possible introversion by connecting with individuals online, particularly those who hold the same interests, hobbies and specialist ideas as themselves. Clark (2005)’s “Constant Connection” concept reinstates the idea that children confide in the opportunity of private spaces online to experiment with different identities, to gain confidential advice and guidance on personal matters, to meet long-distant peers and most importantly, to engage in uninterrupted and private social communication with fellow children who they may value more than their school peers. Thus, the use of Social Media could be sought to compensate for the loss of communication-language development that they would potentially otherwise face if Social Media was non-existent or not as accessible.
Building upon this idea, Developmental Psychologists have utilized the “Social Compensation Hypothesis” (SCH) to explain the above phenomena, whereby it is believed that amongst human beings, especially particularly anxious or introverted children, using social media as the primary form of communication is a kind of safe-haven which compensates for their lack of interactive communication offline (Kraut et al. 2002). One influential research contribution to the SCH significantly found that stressful life events are positively correlated with Social Media usage for children to maintain mood management (including entertainment and information retrieval) and social compensation (such as the maintenance of relationships with online peers and group/individual recognition and allegiance) (Leung 2007). Reiterating the idea put forward previously that children seek some form of safe-haven and protection in an online world, compared to when they face peer-to-peer communication and their school life. One large advantage of Social Media is that it gives children the opportunity of anonymity, or for individuals’ to be labelled using a pseudonym so they are not exposed to the entire social world. It also permits participation in relationships which require less commitment than offline relationships require, thus meaning that children may not be faced with social disproval or embarrassment (than they would offline) if they do not perform as well in group settings (McKenna & Bargh 2000).
Although some researchers have found that using Social Media allows children to reduce possible mental health issues including self-esteem and comparatively increase their well-being, thus contributing to their physiological development. This seems especially fitting when the child may feel marginalized in society where they find difficultly to confide and socialize with their peers due to fears of discrimination or embarrassment. A study involving 881 children has found that positive feedback on a child’s CU2 (See You Too) profile enhanced their self-esteem and ideal of belonging, whereby negative feedback exerted the opposite effects (Valkenburg et al 2006).
Although, the effects of Social Media on children seem to exert positive connotations, researchers have conversely investigated the negative effects it can bring to children, including the rise of Cyber-Bullying.
Contrary to the previous argument stating Social Media reduces possible mental health issues in children, it would be unreasonable to assume that it reduces all possible mental health issues in children as many recent research projects have found substantially opposite results. Although Social Media provides children with an additional way to connect with others, it potentially enables the opportunity for them to experience isolation and low self-esteem, which as a result could lead to mental health issue later in life. Recent statistics show that many young people (56%) reported spending approximately 3 hours using Social Media per day, only 11% of which suffered some form of mental health issues (ONS 2015; Layard et al 2015).
Similarly, if children become too dependent on Social Media communication, including social networking, this could lead to later non-virtual communication deficits, children may have become over reliant on communicating online that they neglect necessary face-to-face experiences. Inevitably, a child’s reliance towards online communication means that they will significantly lack in personal conversational skills and will be less able to detect and learn subtle constitutions of conversation, like tone of voice and bodily language. All of which as a result could impair a child’s personal relationships, or even affect their future job experiences if their communication skills are neglected.
Research evidence indicates that children become less interested in face-to-face communication because of their overemphasis on Social Media usage and communication. (Subrahmanyam & Greenfield 2008). It was also found that individuals who were lonely or did not possess good social skills could develop strong compulsive Internet use behaviors resulting in negative life outcomes (in example, impairing performance in both academia and work or damaging significant relationships) instead of relieving their original problems (Junghun et al 2009).
The emergence of newer Social Networking websites and Social Media platforms create problems especially for parental figures and carers as they need to thoroughly ensure they are aware of exactly what their children are doing online and who they are communicating with to some degree. Inevitably, as humanity progress through the ‘Electronic Age’, childrens’ exposure to Social Media and Networking sites are increasing. Although Social Media networks shelter children from potential harm outside the virtual world, and combats against possible introversion and self-esteem issues, it holds a whole variety of negative aspects and problems children can encounter whilst online, this includes: Intrusion of privacy, Sexual Predators and the largest case, Cyber-bullying.
Under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, parents have the right and control over the personal information websites and companies can collect from their children under the ages of 13. However valid that statistic may seem, a huge quantitative challenge both researchers and parents alike face is the ‘Intrusion of Privacy’, although parents are thought to have control over their childrens Social Media accounts and electronic devices, children’s usage of both are often very disclosed and private. Thus, a large ethical question arises when researchers aim investigate the effects of Social Media use on children because there is an evident fine line between using such evidence for research purposes, and invading a minors’ (under 13’s) privacy. Recent figures show 11.9% of children aged 9-10 have profiles on Social Media platforms, this figure escalates to 43% amongst 12-13 year olds (Perez-Barco 2013). Research also shows that 39% of children think their online activity is private from anyone else (including their parents), invasion of such privacy, especially for research purposes is unethical and would require in-depth consent and requirements for it to be carried out. This may be a big reason why research into the area is dominated by self-report questionnaires and interviews making up statistical and correlational information, rather than objectively based findings.
Previous research contributions into Sexual Harassment and Predation of minors (children under 13) has been undermined, originally it was believed that although communication from predators and pedophiles was a concern for parents and carers of children, the frequency and occurrence of this threat is relatively low (Berkman Centre for Internet and Society 2008). More recent research contributions found that over 500,000 Adult predators are online and using a form of Social Media each day, and it is approximated that a total of 89% of all sexual advancements towards children occur through Instant Messaging and Social Media Chat Rooms (Kempf 2012).
Inevitably, in the timespan of 4 years between both research contributions the availability and knowledgeability of predators and pedophiles online has developed and grown. This also indicates that research evidence concerning Social Media influence on children can be somewhat outdated, as earlier more child friendly websites like ‘Club Penguin’ and ‘Habbo Hotel’, both established between 2000 and 2005 may not have granted predators the opportunity to harass children as much as Social Networking websites have today. With the increase in use of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and more Instant Messaging based Social Media platforms like Snapchat and iMessage as Social Media platforms develop, not only provides children with access to more communication and networking sites to meet new people, but also enables the opportunity for predators and harassers to engage with younger more vulnerable minors.
In the 21st century, technological development and usage has made it easier for bullies and harassers to gain access to their victims and therefore the phenomena of cyber-bullying has reached an all-time high. Current research contributions show that the number of children harassed online has increased by 88% in five years. This finding is reiterated through findings collated by ChildLine who counselled approximately 4,541 children about online bullying in 2015-16, a figure which has almost doubled from 2,410 in 2011-12 (NSPCC 2016). As expected, there is a significant relationship across research studies between cyberbullying and depression amongst children and individuals alike, however, the evidence between cyber-bullying and other mental health conditions is non-significant (Hamm et al 2015). As Cyber-Bullying is correlated with Social Media platforms, previous research contributions reveal specific mechanisms and development strategies which should be implemented in schools to combat and reduce possible childhood depression in the future. These methods could include focus groups, personal tutoring and parent-child training/awareness sessions to improve the well-being of children and decrease the likelihood of them facing mental health issues and poor physiological development from a young age. When considering research contributions from both sides of the spectrum, including both the advantages and disadvantages of Social Media use and its effects on children, it causes speculation. Although research contributions seem to exert positive connotations surrounding Social Media use in children including: The rapid availability of information using the Internet and Social Networking platforms, the ability to develop a child’s capacity for learning in terms of being up-to-date with current affairs and news relevant to their age-groups and its positive effects towards communication and language development in children, particularly for those who experience difficulty in verbal and offline communication. The negative effects Social Media has on children cannot be ignored, especially as humanity progresses and delves deeper into the ‘Electronic Age’ in the 21st century, availability to Social Media platforms will continue to facilitate and reach children, but also harassers, bullies and Sexual Predators also.