Mobile phones and social media are widely used nowadays by adults, youth, and children alike. For many people, social media is the only way they connect with their near and dear ones. With social networking apps like Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, etc., it is easy to keep in touch with your friends and family.
Children, especially teens, are hooked to mobile phones, enamored by social media and video-sharing sites. They spend hours and hours watching videos, messaging on chats, calling friends, etc. However, there are grave physical and emotional health risks due to the overuse of digital screens and social media apps. Technologies like cell phone trackerapps can assist in limiting mobile phone use among kids. Parents can install WhatsApp online tracker premium apk and monitor kids’ social media usage.
We list some of the most common problems related to excessive social media usage among kids.
Sleep Problems – Excessive digital screen use can interfere with a good night’s sleep. Blue light exposure from the screen and content stimulating the senses can disrupt sleep patterns and impact the ability to concentrate on studies. Many children and teenagers who are excessively into social media usage are more at risk for sleep-related problems.
Negative Effect on School Performance – With unsupervised mobile and social media use, children often access social media sites and entertainment media during study time. Such type of behavior could harm their studies and performance at school.
Obesity – Kids and teenagers who are excessively addicted to mobile phones and social networking sites spend too much time on those apps to neglect their health. They stick to their mobile phones accessing social media content without indulging in healthy pursuits such as sports or exercises. This leads to uncontrolled weight gain or obesity.
Risky Behaviors – Teenagers who are too active on social media develop undesirable vices and show risky behaviors and traits, like excessive sexual thoughts, substance abuse, eating disorders, etc.
Teens get exposed to alcohol, tobacco use, sexually deviant behaviors, etc., through social media, which increases the risk of catching risky behaviors.
Predators And Sexting – Sexting or sending nude or seminude images, videos, and sexually explicit text messages is a phenomenon that has been seen commonly nowadays. Adolescents and teens are more likely to indulge in sexting. It is often done under pressure from someone and because the teens want to avoid rejection.
Kids are also at risk of being trapped by predators that change identities and befriend them. Then they are pressured into sexting which is used to intimidate, harass or force into meeting them in the real world, where the predators take advantage of the innocent kids.
Cyber-bullying – Cyber-bullying is very common among young teens, and it can lead to short- and long-term negative effects on young minds. It causes various social, academic, and health-related problems to both the bully and the victim.
Conclusion
Social media can be a useful tool to stay in touch with loved ones, family, and colleagues. However, many kids suffer from the detrimental effects of too much time spent on social media. Cell phone tracker applications like Kids Tracker can help parents monitor and control mobile phone usage.