Is too much of social media ruining childhood?

The virtual world has connected today’s youth to the globe, but at a cost.

“Sure, I’ll Facebook you,” is what most conversations end with these days.

In just 10 years, Facebook has transitioned from a noun to a verb, and has been accompanied by 1.3 billion people in this journey – roughly the population of India.

Today, monikers like Twitter, YouTube, Vines, Snapchat and the like have become part of speech. To think of kids using these platforms is no big deal either. In fact, it’s surprising if an adult can get past all the features that these networking websites come with.

By being online every few hours a day, have we forgotten how to communicate offline? Invites and announcements are made digitally, even if it’s a weekend plan for a gang of 10.

Aliya Khatri

Karan Navani

Unlike older adults, youth prefer the online social world as opposed to the offline. Spending hours at a time hardly seems tiring. But what are all these teenagers doing online?

Aliya Khatri, 17, says she spends about three hours a day online. But it’s not all time lost. She cites, “YouTube is my favourite. I am obsessed with my favourite YouTubers and spend most of my social media time there. Twitter is just to keep up with latest trends (and fangirl-ing over celebrities!). I use Facebook mostly to communicate with school friends regarding school clubs and projects.”

Likewise, 16-year-old Karan Navani, too, spends about two to three hours on Facebook. He is usually online for latest news from around the world, his favourite brands and websites. He adds, “Close friends are conveniently displayed in one feed. This helps me stay connected and updated.”

Anis Shah

“Life is so boring without the internet. It’s become compulsory like going to school every day,” adds Anis Shah, 16, who spends two hours a day on social media. He says he uses Facebook for regular news updates and YouTube for ‘how to’ videos. His favourite is Snapchat.

But not all teens live life in the virtual world. Sharan Kumar, 14, says he has quit using social media and instead plays football, works out or spends time with his friends.

Social media: A teenager’s boon or bane?

Dr Ashok Kumar

How one uses social media can impact their life positively or take it down a negative spiral. Dr Ashok Kumar, CEO, Indian High School, Dubai, says “As an educator I feel if these platforms are used well, they can take the students’ creativity to another level and increase their productivity as well.”

Schools are adapting to this new era and are aware that social media are an integral component of kids and teenagers’ lives. They create school-based social networking in order to facilitate students’ participation through social media.

Students are at an impressionable age. They have an extraordinary ability to learn quickly, and can easily edit videos, pictures, send texts, create music and upload information online. But at the same time this multitasking has an impact on their ability to adjust in real life (offline).

“Using social networks could be helpful and enriching from a cognitive point of view but at the same time any abuse has negative effects on students' academic performance because of their lack of attention, procrastination and lack of motivation for school's work and activities,” says Dr Valeria Risoli, Clinical Psychologist, Dubai Physiotherapy & Family Medicine Clinic.

Dr Valeria Risoli

Looking at it from a different view, Dr Muhammad Tahir, Child & Adolescent and Adult Psychiatrist, Dubai Healthcare City, says, “By learning too much and not being able to

Dr Muhammad Tahir

process, the information may lead to a state of confusion and the youth might not know how to handle many complex emotions at the same time.”

However, the effects -- positive and negative -- of this new way of learning and teaching are still under study and research.

Being social

"Social media has its threats that can wreak havoc in a child’s life. Apart from sexually explicit content, issues like cybercrime also affect students, unknowingly", adds Dr Ashok.

“Young people who spend too much time online have difficulty adapting to real social requests and this might lead them to develop real social and emotional issues like low self-esteem, depression, anxiety and social inabilities”, says Dr Valeria.

Students may often find themselves in situations of seeking virtual empathy.

Parents speak

Rashmi Navani

Society is evolving into a new online-predominant world, but parents, teachers and adults can do a lot to reduce the risk of disorders like Facebook depression, internet addiction and virtual empathy.

“It seems like my son is online the whole day. I do check up on him every now and then when he is online, but I would prefer if he went out and met his friends in person,” says Rashmi Navani, the mother of a 16-year-old son.

Hina Khatri

Children today have very little interest in sports or other physical activities which affect their physical and mental growth; “it also affects face-to-face communication skills”, says Hina Khatri, the mother of a 17-year-old-girl. She adds, “I encourage my children to browse the web responsibly. I understand using social media is the need of time. However, I would definitely suggest that they focus more on constructive offline communication.”

Time spent on internet should be set by parents, since kids do not have the ability and the consciousness to control and regulate their activities. Dr Valeria also states that physical activities must be reinforced to reduce the risk of mental and physical difficulties and to promote a real social interaction among human beings.

Pros: 1. Gather knowledge from authentic sources available online. 2. Use applications that stimulate brain activity and cognitive skills (e.g. games and educational applications). 3. Access school related information (through school social network) and exchange of material among students and friends. 4. Connect with people across the globe; learn different cultures, lifestyles, religions, languages, thus fostering self-development and self-identity. 5. Develop new ideas; think out of the box by being exposed to other people’s perspectives.

Cons: 1. Cyberbullying can lead to anxiety, depression, and severe isolative behaviour and may lead to suicide in some cases. 2. Negative impact on academic performance because of lack of motivation in school, procrastination, attention lapses. 3. Reduced empathetic skills in youth who tend to be isolated in real life but very active online. 4. Sexting, which is sending receiving and/or publishing sexually explicit material. Research states about 20% adolescents have published nude or semi-nude pictures or videos of themselves. 5. Facebook Depression is a phenomenon recognized with excessive use of Facebook that can trigger severe clinical depression.

• UAE