“…In his book, Raising Emotionally Resilient Teens and Tweens, Kim John Payne says that “About half of all peer abuse or hyper-controlling issues now involve some form of cyberbullying, and the numbers are on the rise.”
While Payne is obviously concerned he asks the obvious question, “Shouldn’t we have expected far-reaching social consequences when we put some of the most powerful tools humankind has ever invented (smartphones, tablets, computers) into our children’s hands while exercising minimal supervision?”
In his research, Payne found that kids who are cyberbullied feel scared and hurt, and develop a negative self-image. Here are more sobering cyberbullying statistics about our kids:
25 per cent engaged in self-harm
26 per cent had suicidal thoughts
37 per cent developed depression
41 per cent developed social anxiety
60 per cent of teenagers have been cyberbullied
70 per cent of teenagers have had rumours spread about them online
20 per cent of tweens (ages ten to twelve) have been cyberbullied
90 per cent of twelve-year-olds are using social media
81 per cent of kids feel it is easier to get away with bullying online
…So, from where does the solution arise? One thing I do know is that the same environment that created the problem isn’t the one to fix it.
Big tech doesn’t have our kid’s best interests at heart – to them, our children’s attention is the commodity they wish to mine and they’ll do all they can to secure and addict our kids to the same devices we find so hard to resist as adults.
In the digital age, where the line between the real world and the virtual one has become increasingly blurred, the responsibility falls on us, as conscious parents, to create a safe, balanced environment for our children.
This blog post aims to explore the profound impacts of smartphones and social media on our kids’ mental health, provide insights from various research and experts, and empower parents with the knowledge they need to protect and promote the well-being of the next generation…”
Learn more here: https://raisedgood.com/smartphones-kids-and-inconvenient-truths-what-parents-need-to-know/
