Headline, October 14 2021/ ''' '' PARENTS -STUDENTS- PARLOUR '' '''

''' '' PARENTS -STUDENTS-

 PARLOUR '' '''

IN 2019 - OVER 90 PERCENT of the 773 middle schoolers surveyed during the first wave of a longitudinal survey conducted by Dr. Charmaraman's lab reported that they had their own smartphone.

Nearly three-quarters of them had already started using Instagram or Snapchat, and more than 40 percent were 10 or younger when they first joined.

Facebook, which is developing an Instagram app for children under 13, says the new app would keep children off its main platform while addressing safety and privacy concerns. But lawmakers and state prosecutors and children's and consumer groups are deeply concerned.

The Wall Street Journal revealed last week that researchers at Instagram had studied for years how its photo-sharing app affects your young users and found that it can be particularly harmful to teenage girl, news that alarmed the world.

According to the research, which was not publicly released, Instagram makes body image issues worse for one in three teenage girls. And among teenagers who reported suicidal thoughts, ''13 percent of British users and 6 percent of American users traced the desire to kill themselves to Instagram,'' according to the article.

Facebook, which own Instagram, issued a statement in response, saying in part that that ''research into the impact social media has on people is still relatively nascent and evolving'' and that ''no single study is going to be conclusive.''

Instagram noted in a statement that social media can have a '' see-saw '' effect, where the same person might have a negative experience one day and a positive one the next.

For some parents, the study's findings weren't necessarily surprising given the the platform's preponderance of unattainable, altered images, but it raised an important question : What can we do to help our children have a healthier relationship with social media?

Several experts offered advice for parents of adolescents on navigating social media, whether their children are always online or on the cusp of receiving their first phone or tablet.

DON'T GO FROM ''ZERO TO 100''

Rather than gifting your child a smartphone with multiple social media apps, consider letting your child text with best friend or cousin on a shared family device to start, suggested Devorah Heitner, the author of ''Screenwise Helping Kids Thrive [ and Survive ] in Their Digital World.''

Then think about the most appropriate age for your child to start using social media, taking into account personality, impulsivity and maturity level. Allow the adding one one social app when you're ready, Dr. Heitner said, rather than going from ''zero to 100.''

If your daughter has body image issues, for example, maybe an app like Instagram isn't right for her, said Jean M. Twenge, a professor of psychology at San Diego State University and the author of ''i-Gen,'' a book about teens and young adults and their relationship with technology.

Your children may want to use an app like Snapchat, even though the company's rules say they're too young.

And if that happens, you can reach out to other parents to see if there's an alternative way for the children to communicate that allows you to stay true to your own values, Dr. Heitner said.

Dr. Twenge, a mother of three, has this rule ''Children 12 and under should not be on social media,'' she said. ''The answer is NO and the law is behind you.''

The law she is referring to is called the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, which prohibits companies from collecting data online from children under 13 - and as a result, social media platforms say children under 13 cannot create their own accounts.

But those 12 and under can easily evade any age-related restrictions on social media platforms by lying about their birth year, said Lynda Charamaraman, the director of Youth, Media & Wellbeing Research Lab at Wellesley College.

The Honor and Serving of the Latest Global Operational Research on Parents, Students, Social Media and Times, continues. The World Students Society thanks author Christina Caron.

With respectful dedication to Grandparents, Parents, Students, Professors and Teachers of the world. See Ya all prepare and register for Great Global Elections on The World Students Society - the exclusive ownership of every student in the world : wssciw.blogspot.com and Twitter - !E-WOW! - The Ecosystem 2011 :

Good Night and God Bless

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