Madison Cameron, a youth specialist with the Centre for Trauma Informed Practices, spoke Tuesday evening to families at the Alexander Middle School library about the effects of social media on children, The presentation was called, "We're Not So Different After All."--NEWS PHOTO BRENDAN MILLER
bmiller@medicinehatnews.com
After conducting research by speaking to more than 10,000 students across Canada and the U.S., Madison Cameron, a youth specialist who works for the Centre for Trauma Informed Practices, has developed a summary of impacts of social media on children.
Tuesday evening at the Alexander Middle School library, Cameron shared this summary, called the ‘Social Cycle,’ with parents and caregivers during an hour-plus presentation titled, “We’re Not So Different After All.”
Throughout her research and by using non-personal anecdotes and statistics, Cameron said the three main elements that make up a child’s online ‘Social Cycle” include insecurity, social currency and the fear of missing out.
Throughout her presentation, Cameron was able to connect these three elements to negative effects in kids mental and emotional well-being, as well as how they influence behavioural aspects.
Cameron said children are constantly comparing themselves with stories, photos and posts on social media that can lead to increased insecurities and an expectation of an ‘unrealistic’ depiction of someone’s life.
That comparison can be impactful on children and sometimes make them feel like they need to act a certain way to gain social acceptance or approval from others.
“Each and everyone of us has a personal portfolio, a highlight tape,” explains Cameron. “And much like sports, that highlight tape is a showing of our best and brightest moments … We are constantly comparing our behind the scenes, our struggles, our trauma, to people’s highlights, so much that I think we’ve forgotten a little bit about the other 99 per cent of life that happens outside a screen.”
The presentation also highlighted the value of social currency to youth and says this currency is acquainted with the number of followers an individual has, or the number of likes a post or comment receives.
“All of these things can become recorded transactions attributing value to a person, because not every child measures their self worth by validations and gratification that don’t come from a screen these days.”
Sites like Snapchat, Tiktok and YouTube also produce a fear of missing out, or FOMO, for some children while offline that can be compared to an addiction to alcohol for youth.
She explains kids are growing up addicted to browsing social media sites and can showcase similar addiction symptoms, including stress and anxiety, when spending periods of time offline, and often find it hard to seek in-person help.
“Now we have an entire generation with some kids growing up addicted and they don’t have the skill set yet. They can suffer from stress or anxiety,” says Cameron. “Perhaps they’re way in over their heads on a situation to turn to a person, but instead, they prefer to turn to their devices.”
Cameron stressed the importance of open communication and creating an understanding between parents and children while addressing any online challenges, and suggested some useful strategies to stay engaged with youth navigating social media.
She suggests involving youth in the decision-making process around setting social media boundaries, rather than imposing strict rules. Cameron also says it’s important to be aware of emerging online platforms and apps that may expose youth to inappropriate or dangerous content.
