What to Do If Your Kids Affected by Facebook?

As you read this post, a group of concerned citizens has written to Facebook about the kids’ Messenger platform. The complaint is already in the Federal Trade Commission files, and it doesn’t sound right to Zuckerberg’s ears.

It proposes the closure of the Messenger option since it violates children’s privacy instead of protecting them. Parents are witnessing the impact of social media on kids, but something else is happening at the FB headquarters.

The FB team is trying to get even the five-year-olds on Facebook. What can a child at such an age do with Facebook? Nothing much, and the worst part is that they cannot protect themselves.

Part 1: How Are Kids Affected by Facebook?

The Facebook Messenger for the kids, among other advancements, motivates the children to join Facebook. How? By allowing parents’ consent before engaging in private conversations with the peers.

According to Facebook, this option will encourage the kids to talk to distant relatives and friends. While that’s okay, kids can borrow a phone from the parents or use their platform to communicate. 

That begs the question of what’s the essence. For kids to join Facebook, they may have to lie about their age. That also means they will face some adult complexities as they proceed.

That is where the effects kick in. Children are never satisfied with the responses and conversations they get online. Further, they may have to chew some of the advanced issues that pop up on this famous platform.

That brings up distress, anxiety, and depression in later stages. There is also the issue of cyberbullying, and kids are more vulnerable when compared to adults. As the kids go through such cases, they may not be able to communicate effectively.

Suppose you confront your kid while facing social pressure. That creates more problems. They don’t want to tell you what’s going on, and provoking will only bring in more issues.

It’s a good idea to find the best app to monitor a child’s Facebook activities, especially on the Messenger side. That will give you a clue on why your kid is not opening up. We’ll discuss more on that as we look at what to do to counter the FB effect on young ones.

Part 2: What to Do When Kids Get Affected by Facebook

Facebook has been there for quite a long time, and it’s getting ‘bigger and better.’ For your kid who has swept by what the platform presents, here are the appropriate measures to take:

Watch the Behavior Closely

Once your kid gets the provocative messages on Facebook, they will start to react. You may notice the change in behavior but disclosing to you is another rocket science subject. More often than not, they will appear to be distant, and that’s not okay.

Responses to questions will either be shrugs or one-word answers. They will also tend to stay indoors and only interact with one friend with whom they feel close. When such a trend comes up, take your time to study the changes.

Do not confront at the height of things. Instead, find a way to engage in a slow conversation to provide the right answers to the worrying behavior.

Monitor Their Facebook Activities

Your child may not effectively communicate what is troubling them. Will you sit down and wait for things to come out or explode? No. As a parent in the digital age, you should know better. Your child may be facing some bullying issues they cannot tell.  

Why? Because the account they are using is meant for the adults. The young one had to lie by giving some grownup information during the account opening. Telling mom/dad will bring up questions they can’t answer. So, hiding some things is the better option.

To uncover the details, you can decide to deploy a monitoring application. The better solutions are simple, and they will tell you everything. You can access the posts, comments, contact details, timestamps, and anything attached remotely.

All you need is to invest in an app like Spyier to get the results. It will help you capture the Facebook details even when you are away. The best thing is that there are features like the keylogger to capture the login details too.

Have an Open Communication

Once you know that Facebook is affecting your kid, confronting will never bring the answers. If you want them, engage your child in a friendly and open conversation about Facebook issues affecting humans.

You can start by telling a story or posing a scenario and asking your child on what they would do. How they respond will give you a clear picture of your child’s coping with the distress.

If you notice inappropriate handling of a situation, that is when you take appropriate action. Also, talking to your kid will help them adjust their thinking ways. Eventually, they will be able to say no to what they don’t want to see or hear.

Involve a Professional

There are some levels of mental health that you cannot solve by yourself. You are the parent, which means you are entitled to know your child better. It’s, however, not the case until a professional third-party gets involved.

Having sessions with a psychiatrist or a teacher in school may prove to be of great value. There are things that a child may not tell you but will open up when somebody new comes along.

So, the advice here is that you don’t need to suffer alone if there is help.

Report to Authorities Where Necessary

Do you know the person stressing your kid via Facebook? The monitoring solution may have shown you two or three contacts causing all the trouble. While it depends on what the child is going through, reporting the matter also helps.

Some cyberbullies will continue to cause havoc until your child gives into the mayhem. Instead of waiting for that, make a point of reporting either via Facebook or to the law enforcers.

The person will face the necessary action, and it’s a good point to follow up.

Conclusion

We will be waiting for Facebook to respond on the kids’ Messenger matter and involving young ones on social media. For you, there are points above to help you cope with the situation as you watch the children grow.

Sadly, this is a millennial problem that we have to solve. On the other hand, we can always stay positive as we guide the kids. Facebook is not that bad since it helps those who need it. On the other hand, the children need assistance due to the complexities involved.