15 Interesting Facts About Social Media And Kids

We know that the list of dangers of social media is endless, and vulnerable kids are more at the receiving end of it. Use the Bit Guardian Parental Control to ensure your kid’s safety in the digital world.

The Internet has practically entrapped everyone, from kids to their grandparents. Such is the reach of social media that even the person living under a rock would be aware of what it is!

Do you know how many children use social media? Half of the children aged 11 and 12 have accounts on social media. 

Having been born with gadgets in hands, children know the technology like the back of their hands. But they are ignorant of the risks associated with overexposure to the devices. Let us learn some facts about kids and social media.

15 Interesting facts about social media and kids

1)   In 2015, the U.K. Office for National Statistics found that children spending more than 3 hours each school day on social media platforms experienced delay in their emotional and social development.

2)    According to a report published by IZA Institute of Labor Economics - just one hour a day on social media can make a child miserable.

3)    Another 2015 study by the British Psychological Society reveals that teenagers feel obligated to respond to social media posts (liking them), replying to texts, and direct messages. This undeniable affects their mental health.

4)     A University of Michigan study suggests that the use of social networking websites negatively affects young adults. The more time they spend there, the more dissatisfied they are from their lives.  

5)   DoSometing.org - one of the largest organizations for young people and social change – specifies several alarming effects of social media. This includes sleeping disorders, depression, smartphone addiction, stress, lower self-esteem, isolation, insecurity.

6)    According to a survey conducted by the Australian Psychological Society, FOMO(Fear Of Missing Out) is one of the main reasons for teens’ extensive use of social media.

7)     A 2019 study from the University of Montreal has established that compared to other types of screen time, social media is more likely to develop depressive symptoms in teenagers.

8)   Instagram mainly affects teen girls more because they unrealistically start comparing themselves with others.

9)    According to Patricia Greenfield, professor of psychology in the UCLA College, when kids use digital media for social interaction, they spend less time developing social skills. They find it difficult to understand the emotions of other people.

10) A survey carried out by the University of Glasgow states that many children use social media at night particularly. Their profound emotional involvement leads to poorer sleep quality, lower self-esteem, and higher levels of anxiety.

11) Research by Larry Rosen, a professor of psychology at California State University, suggests that the teens who use social networks like Facebook extensively might suffer from narcissism and find it difficult to sympathize with others.

12) A recent analysis published in the journal PLOS ONE found that teenagers spending more time on the Internet have thoughts of self-harm or suicide. They have increased chances of being victims of cyberbullying too.

13) According to Pamela Rutledge in Psychology Today, “a teen who lacks self-confidence might develop an obsession with selfies, which is a form of ‘acting out,’ a typical behavioral pattern to get attention.”

14) A study published in the medical journal JAMA indicates that the teens continuously checking social media and stream video might develop symptoms of ADHD, which causes shorter attention span, or distractibility.

15)  Research by a team of economists at the University of Sheffield implies that the more time teens spend chatting on social networking sites, the less happy they feel about their school, appearance, family, and their life overall.

Screen relationships distract kids from spending time in real-life relationships and developing social skills.

Download Parental Control Apps for Android, apply screen time control, limit their smartphone addiction, and create a safe digital world for them to explore.

Parent's Guide to Internet Safety with Security

With internet access becoming Omni-present, kids are taking charge of gizmos with manic frenzy. The excessive exposure to screen time leads an entire generation towards tech obsession.

Thus, digital addiction creates anxiety among parents worldwide. To turn your anxiety into serenity, we have come up with the solution of screen time control for children. Let us see how?

Screen Time App - a tool to kill online addiction

An application that secures children from excessive use of smartphones or similar devices is the screen time app. This app comes under the purview of parental control software. 

Parental controls are designed for the users to keep tabs on kids' tasks like viewable contents, application usage, virtual screen control, and many more.

The security of children is the foremost concern any parent will take into consideration. Hence, this is the software which is used to supervise and restrict the device usage ability of teens.

Hold your seats to know more about the preventive steps to curb the excessive screening hours.

• Parents guide to internet safety

Teach your kids the importance of time management:

Establish the boundaries to control the device usage capacity of kids.  Use a screen time app to adjust the proper timing of using each application. 

Follow these effective set of rules and define the parameters on gadgets:

• 30-45 minutes of a target on gaming apps
• 15-20 minutes of goal on social media apps
• 10 minutes for other apps
• Around 1 hour for educational apps 
• Total shutdown of the phone during bedtime

• Switch to another alternative as well:

Parental controls offer various options in concern with the security of the children.

You can apply other tools like App Blockers that can block unnecessary and unwanted applications on kid's devices.

App Blocker will mitigate the risk of over usage of mobiles, and in turn, kids will relieve their eyes from screens.

You can also set up the Kiosk Mode tool in chid's device that allows the use of only selected apps to children. It will create a new launcher on the kid's mobile home screen.

• Safeguard the gateway of devices with passwords: 

The way you lock your house for the safety of property, why not to lock the screen for the protection of children? 

Create an alpha-numeric password that cannot be cracked by children and make sure to save it at a safer place.

Use the fingerprint scanning or facial recognition as a password. You can also go with the device pattern option to avoid typing keyboard passwords.

• Encourage engagement in other activities:

Keep your kids occupied in other activities like sports, skiing, painting, and alike. Encourage their morale with your participation on the board games or sports.

When children spend more time on such activities, they will remain away from gadgets, and in turn, it helps in screen time control.

The latest news buzzing around the electronic media is about the gaming addicted British children who are under the care.

According to a Mirror Investigation, "Device addiction is widespread and blown an 11 year and a 13-year-old child. They lag behind in schools and snub their friends or isolate themselves in a space where they can stick to a screen."

Follow the parents' guide to internet safety for the complete security of kids.

Install the best screen time app i.e., Bit Guardian Parental Control to protect kids from the hiccups of excessive screen time. Get it on your device now!

Six ways to establish boundaries for your kid’s smartphones

The tech-centric world is fully empowered, incredible, and awfully exciting. But it is also intruding from routine responsibilities and kinships- especially for children who are obsessed with electronic devices. 

Are your children getting on your nerves when you interrupt them while they are on their device?

Does your kid forget to blink an eye when staring on gadgets?

As a parent, it is your onus to keep tabs on a kid's digital exposure and protect them from the excessive habit of checking mobile screens. Keep reading; we have shared the best solution for screen time control app.

How to establish boundaries for your kid’s mobile device?

• Technology etiquettes

 It is deliberately required to teach children some etiquettes of using technology. Say for instance, at the dinner table, if you find your kids plugged into music on the phone, won't you feel annoyed? 

Hence, educating children to follow device etiquette is very important.

• Enforce device rules: 

 To separate kids from smartphones, you should enforce certain rules so they can share ideas and remain free from it.

You can set protocols like:

• no device allowed at the dinner table, 
• avoid answering phones when sitting with visitors at home or 
• meeting and engaging with people in parties instead of holding a device.

• Fix the time of using gadgets:

 You should prearrange the hours of using phones or tablets. Kids should not be allowed mobiles during bedtime or at visitor’s place.

Use parental control software for screen time control that allows you to set the timings for accessing multiple applications. You can fix the curfew hours and restrict the viewable content with the use of parental controls.

• Follow what you impart: 

Children will imitate the things you do. Hence, before asking them to follow good habits, first, you need to control your screen time. 

You can avoid using phones in front of kids unless it's important. You should stop attending calls or peeping on screens during meals or while helping kids in projects or studies. This way, you can convey a compelling message that boundaries are not just for teens but for parents too.

• Occupy children in other fruitful activities:

 When kids are constantly paying attention to useless notifications and pop-ups, divert their mind into various activities.

Let your kids forsake tablets and smartphones in favor of board games and toys. Ask your child to play outside sport or inculcate hobbies like dancing, singing and alike. 

Sit with them and enjoy good music or handover a good book. 

• Download parental control app:

 Screen time control is significantly possible with parental control application. It is a software that is built to monitor and curb the child’s digital activities.

Diversified tools of a parental control app helps you to curtail your kid’s screen time in many ways as described below:

• Time Schedule: Controls the screen time on the device where you can set curfew hours.

• App Blockers: You can restrict the use of unwanted or objectionable applications, so teens are saved from online vulnerabilities.

• Call Blockers: You can restrict the futile hours your child is spending unnecessarily with peers on calls. You can block the spam or unknown and known callers with this feature. 

Establishing healthy boundaries and screen time control is achievable with Bit Guardian Parental Control -  a Paradigm in parental control landscape. Trust the users and get the app on your device today!