How to Improve Your Child’s Relationship With Social Media

By Jody Bell

What did your childhood look like? For most parents, it’s safe to assume that their child is living in a vastly different world than the one they were raised in. GenZ grew up in a digital world — social media provides them with constant access to a vast network of friends and a continuous stream of information.

As a parent, this can be incredibly intimidating — how do you monitor what your child is posting and viewing without harming your relationship?

Jennifer Openshaw, CEO of Girls with Impact, spoke to Alexa Curtis to find out. Curtis is an Founder of Life Unfiltered with Alexa Curtis — a blog she started when she was 12. She also created the Be Fearless Summit, which partners with college campus to prepare young adults to land their dream jobs.

Here are Curtis’ parenting tips to improve your child’s social media presence and strengthen your relationship in the process.

Social Media: What Should You Know

Social media has many different facets — and the culture across each app is vastly different. Here’s a summary of what you may see across the board.

Pointing to the joyful dance routines and funny videos shared on TikTok, Curtis believes social media is generally a positive space. You can find pages sharing information about mental health, bullying, and tips for dealing with the everyday stresses of adolescence. Many of these pages have become platforms to uplift one another and form a peer-to-peer network.

However, there are the occasional “bad apple” pages. Whether this be overly sexual content, online bullying, or simply mature media that you think your child is too young for. Curtis recommends that if your child is under 16, you should have access to what their viewing. Products like Circle can not only help manage what your child is seeing, but limits the amount of time they are on their device.

How to Stay in the Loop — Keeping up With Your Teen’s Social Media

Adolescence looks a lot different in 2020. We get it. Here’s how you can connect with your child on social media and incorporate it into your conversations.

First and foremost, if your child shows you a photo, video, or meme from social media react to it.

Showing interest in their social media endeavors will let them know that you care and want to stay informed. Laughing or asking a question is a great way to react in a non-judgmental way.

Curtis also recommends dinner time as a social media check in. You can discuss videos/photos that your child showed you that day and go into depth about that content. It’s a great time to point out why certain posts shouldn’t be seen, and bring up difficult topics revolving around eating disorders, bullying, and underage sexualization. With this method you can educate your child about social media, bring up major topics that can be difficult to discuss, and do so in a way that makes your child a part of the conversation.

So Your Child Wants to Be an Influencer….Now What?

As a parent, seeing thousands of views on your teen’s post can be intimidating — here’s what you need to know.

Being an influencer can come in many forms — for some it is based off partnerships with companies trying to reach a younger audience. For others, it is simply to build their own brand and monetize themselves through merchandise.

These opportunities are great ways for your child to learn about the power of media while building a brand and income. However, you must be open with them — voice your concerns and ensure that you are involved with their online presence.

As digital natives, GenZ has formed what is truly a second identity — one that is based solely online and is used to express both themselves and their ideologies. As a parent you must monitor this online identity, whilst also allowing them to express themselves and their messages. Hopefully, these tips aid in conquering this difficult balance.

Jody Bell, 19, is Girls With Impact’s Chief Editor and a program graduate. Girls With Impact is the nation’s only online, after-school, entrepreneurship program for teen girls, turning them into tomorrow’s business leaders and innovators.