Social Media Pitfalls
Social media has become an integral part of our daily lives, and it’s no surprise that it plays a significant role in the lives of young adults. As a parent, it’s crucial to understand the impact that social media can have on your child and how to navigate it together. Here are some tips on how to help your young adult navigate social media:
First, have an open and honest conversation about social media and how much time each family member spends on it. Discuss the positive aspects, but also address the potential negatives, such as mental health concerns, especially with influencers becoming so popular. Encourage them to come to you with any concerns or issues they may encounter regarding how they feel about themselves after scrolling. Social media can be so much fun when you’re looking for dance videos, cooking tips, outfit ideas, or watching your favorite family of bears come to visit someone’s home, but lately, with the new algorithm, it’s become all about the super-rich! I used to love scrolling TikTok, but now, for some reason, unbeknownst to me, my entire feed is beauty influencers applying makeup or on their influencer trips which I have no interest in seeing. I can only imagine what this does to a young person, trying to make their way in the world, seeing this display of wealth that is not a reality for the normal person. It’s so funny to me too, because it looks like “forced family fun”, like these kids are put in an exotic location, given alcohol, and told to have a good time and put it on their social media account. Is it really that fun? I have no idea, but from my mom/life coach's perspective, things are NOT always what they seem!
As long as your young adult is cool with scrolling for short periods of time and understands that there is no reason to ever compare their life to the life they see on the screen, you are good. But for most people, that’s not the case. Too much scrolling can lead to serious doubts about one’s own life and accomplishments. Our society values money, beauty, and fame. Let’s just take a deep breath and remember what makes us happy before we get all bent out of shape about how well someone else seems to be doing. We have no idea how happy or unhappy someone else is, just by scrolling through their social media account.
I remember a long time ago, I think I was just out of college. My father and I were eating dinner in NY, and the most beautiful woman sat us down at our table. She was absolutely stunning and I made a remark to my father about how easy her life must be, being so gorgeous. And I’ll never forget him telling me that I had no idea what her life was like and that she may struggle with other things. He put it into perspective at the moment about not wishing you could trade places with someone else when you have no idea about who they are and what they’ve been through. That was a real-life example of what our kids go through daily scrolling social media. They need a reminder that it’s not all unicorns and roses!
Navigating social media can be overwhelming for all of us, but as a parent, you can help guide them through it and remind them that things aren’t always what they seem. Most of us know this, but it doesn’t hurt to be reminded, especially on an off day when your child
