Social Media and Parenting
Social media includes popular networking websites, like Facebook and Twitter. It involves groups, forums and other platforms for interactive sharing and discussion of various events, news, blog post and articles.
Definition of Social Media
“Social media are platforms that enable the interactive web by engaging users to participate in, comment on and create content as means of communicating with their social graph, other users and the public”(Cohen, 2011).
Parent Child Relationship
“The parent-child relationship consists of a combination of behaviour’s, feelings, and expectations that are unique to a particular parent and a particular child. The relationship involves the full extent of a child’s development.”
Of the many different people form over the course of the life span, the relationship between parent and child is among the most important. The quality of the parent-child relationship is affected by the parent’s age, experience, and self-confidence, the unique characteristics of the child compared with those of the parent.
Social Media Effect on Parent Child Relationship
For better or worse, social media has changed the way we parent. You may not have been able to get a conversation out of your teenager at dinner, but if you check their Facebook page, you can find out if they’re in a relationship.
“Social media, a term that is used to define communicating and networking with others through the internet using a website site such as Facebook or Twitter, has completely changed the world. In particular, its influence on parenting is enormous.”People love social media technology, and it’s great that kids have access to endless amounts of information and culture. We are witnessing a new digital revolution.
For Better
In general, social media has influenced parenting for the better. Pregnancy and parenting unite people as you could have absolutely nothing else in common with another person except that you both have a child or are pregnant and suddenly you are so very much the same.
It was through social media that people are able to find people going through the same experiences you are going through, and are able to connect with them. There are many social media forums and groups where you can join in and support each other, grieve many losses, celebrate healthy births, ask thousands of questions that people are too embarrassed to even ask our own doctors.
For Worse
Social media has the power to bring out the ugly and envious side in us as we start comparing our parent child relationship with that of others which is utter nonsense and should never be done. Unfortunately, these are difficult lessons to learn.
Parents are usually the Role model for their children. The way their parents use the social media is often noticed and imbibed by the children at a faster rate than other good qualities which they should imbibe. People often view Facebook, go through their emails when with their children impacting their children and their habits .
The other issue is the addiction attached to the social media and games that tend to bypass other things and give less time to important things in the day. Thus the parents should understand and control their child as well as themselves from not over indulging in anything.
The last issue is that people tend to suffer heavily by constantly glaring through social media, especially eye problems. Thus to avoid a long term problem both parent and child should understand the issue and concern.“Overall, social media is a very useful tool. People can’t imagine what their life would be without pictures of their beautiful daughter plastered all over Facebook for friends and family to enjoy, what life without Twitter in general would be like, or what loosing hundreds of amazing online friendships would do to me.