Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic
\n At what age should kids be on social media? Should they be on it at all? If they aren\u2019t, will they be social pariahs? Should parents monitor their conversations? Do parental controls work? Navigating social media as a parent \u2014 not to mention a child \u2014 is not easy. Using social media platforms is still the default for most American teenagers, with the Pew Research Center reporting that 58% of teens are daily users of TikTok, including 17% who describe their TikTok use as almost constant. About half of teens use Snapchat and Instagram daily, with near-constant use at 14% and 8% for each, respectively. But parents \u2014 and even some teens themselves \u2014 are growing increasingly concerned about the effects of social media use on young people. Lawmakers have taken notice and have held multiple congressional hearings on child online safety. But even with apparent bipartisan unity, making laws and regulating companies takes time. So far, no regulation has passed.<\/p>\n
What are parents \u2014 and teens \u2014 supposed to do in the meantime? Here are some tips on staying safe, communicating and setting limits on social media \u2014 for kids as well as their parents.<\/p>\n
IS 13 THE MAGIC AGE FOR SOCIAL MEDIA? There\u2019s already, technically, a rule that prohibits kids under 13 from using platforms that advertise to them without parental consent: The Children\u2019s Online Privacy Protection Act that went into effect in 2000, before today\u2019s teenagers were even born.<\/p>\n
The goal was to protect kids\u2019 online privacy by requiring websites and online services to disclose clear privacy policies and get parents\u2019 consent before gathering personal information on their kids, among other things. To comply, social media companies have generally banned kids under 13 from signing up for their services.But times have changed, and online privacy is no longer the only concern when it comes to kids being online. There\u2019s bullying, harassment, the risk of developing eating disorders, suicidal thoughts or worse.<\/p>\n
For years, there has been a push among parents, educators and tech experts to wait to give children phones \u2014 and access to social media \u2014 until they are older, such as the \u201cWait Until 8th\u201d pledge that has parents sign a pledge not to give their kids a smartphone until the 8th grade, or about age 13 or 14. Some wait even later, like 16 or 17.But neither social media companies nor the government have done anything concrete to increase the age limit.IF THE LAW WON\u2019T BAN KIDS, SHOULD PARENTS?\u201cThere is not necessarily a magical age,\u201d said Christine Elgersma, a social media expert at the nonprofit Common Sense Media. But, she added, \u201c13 is probably not the best age for kids to get on social media.\u201dThe laws currently being proposed include blanket bans on the under-13 set when it comes to social media. The problem? There\u2019s no easy way to verify a person\u2019s age when they sign up for apps and online services. And the apps popular with teens today were created for adults first. Companies have added some safeguards over the years, Elgersma noted, but these are piecemeal changes, not fundamental rethinks of the services.<\/p>\n
\u201cDevelopers need to start building apps with kids in mind,\u201d she said.Some tech executives, celebrities such as Jennifer Garner and parents from all walks of life have resorted to banning their kids from social media altogether. While the decision is a personal one that depends on each child and parent, some experts say this could lead to isolating kids, who could be left out of activities and discussions with friends that take place on social media or chat services.Another hurdle \u2014 kids who have never been on social media may find themselves ill-equipped to navigate the platforms when they are suddenly allowed free rein the day they turn 18.TALK, TALK, TALKA more realistic and effective approach to social media, experts say, is a slow, deliberate onboarding that gives children the tools and information they need to navigate a world in which places like TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat are almost impossible to escape.\u201cYou cannot just expect that the kids will jump into the world of social media, learn how to swim on their own,\u201d said Natalie Bazarova, a professor of communications and director of the Cornell Social Media Lab. \u201cThey need to have instruction.\u201d<\/p>\n
Start early, earlier than you think. Elgersma suggests that parents go through their own social media feeds with their children before they are old enough to be online and have open discussions on what they see. How would your child handle a situation where a friend of a friend asks them to send a photo? Or if they see an article that makes them so angry they just want to share it right away?For older kids, Elgersma says to approach them with curiosity and interest, \u201casking about what their friends are doing or just not asking direct questions like, \u2018What are you doing on Instagram?\u2019 but rather, \u2018Hey, I heard this influencer is really popular.\u2019\u201d And even if your kid rolled their eyes it could be a window.\u201d<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t say things like \u201cTurn that thing off!\u201d when your kid has been scrolling for a long time, says Jean Rogers, the director of the nonprofit Fairplay\u2019s Screen Time Action Network.\u201cThat\u2019s not respectful,\u201d Rogers said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t respect that they have a whole life and a whole world in that device.\u201dInstead, Rogers suggests asking them questions about what they do on their phone, and see what your child is willing to share.Kids are also likely to respond to parents and educators \u201cpulling back the curtains\u201d on social media and the sometimes insidious tools companies use to keep people online and engaged, Elgersma said. Watch a documentary like \u201cThe Social Dilemma\u201d that explores algorithms, dark patterns and dopamine feedback cycles of social media. Or read up with them how Facebook and TikTok make money.\u201cKids love to be in the know about these things, and it will give them a sense of power,\u201d she said.SETTING LIMITSRogers says most parents have success with taking their kids\u2019 phones overnight to limit their scrolling. Occasionally kids might try to sneak the phone back, but it\u2019s a strategy that tends to work because kids need a break from the screen.\u201cThey need to an excuse with their peers to not be on their phone at night,\u201d Rogers said. \u201cThey can blame their parents.\u201dParents may need their own limits on phone use. Rogers said it\u2019s helpful to explain what you are doing when you do have a phone in hand around your child so they understand you are not aimlessly scrolling through sites like Instagram. Tell your child that you\u2019re checking work email, looking up a recipe for dinner or paying a bill so they understand you\u2019re not on there just for fun. Then tell them when you plan to put the phone down.WHAT ABOUT PARENTAL CONTROLS?Social media platforms that cater to children have added an ever-growing array of parental controls as they face increasing scrutiny over child safety. For instance, Meta unveiled parental supervision tools last year that lets parents set time limits, see who their kid follows or is followed by, and allows them to track how much time the minor spends on Instagram. It does not let parents see message content. But as with similar tools on other platforms such as TikTok, the feature is optional, and both kids and parents have to agree to use it. In order to nudge kids toward agreeing to set up the controls, Instagram sends a notice to teens after they block someone, encouraging them to let their parents \u201csupervise\u201d their account. The idea is to grab kids\u2019 attention when they might be more open to parental guidance.By making the feature optional, Meta says it is trying to \u201cbalance teen safety and autonomy\u201d as well as prompt conversations between parents and their children. Such features can be useful for families in which parents are already involved in their child\u2019s online life and activities. Experts say that\u2019s not the reality for many people. U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said last year it\u2019s unfair to expect parents to manage what their children do with rapidly evolving technology that \u201cfundamentally changes how their kids think about themselves, how they build friendships, how they experience the world \u2014 and technology, by the way, that prior generations never had to manage.\u201d Putting all of that on the shoulders of parents, he said, \u201cis just simply not fair.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic At what age should kids be on social media? Should they be on it at all? If they aren\u2019t, will they be social pariahs? Should parents monitor their conversations? Do parental controls work? Navigating social media as a parent \u2014 not to mention a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":127541,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-127540","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-international"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127540","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127540"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127540\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":127542,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127540\/revisions\/127542"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/127541"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127540"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}