Social media and toddlers
Our twins R and M will be four years old at the end of the month. A couple of days ago M said something to me which really surprised me.
The twins were building a den on the sofa which is something they love to do. Naturally I thought it was a great opportunity to take some photos.
The girls always ask to look at the photos afterwards and whilst M was looking through them she announced to me, “Daddy, I think you should put that one on Facebook!” I’ll be honest it took me back a bit, but obviously they have heard my wife and I saying this.
Children certainly catch on quickly, but what are the consequences of social media for our four year old twins?
The obvious fact is that they will only know life with the internet and everything that comes with it.
Social media is without question going to be a huge part of their lives whether we like that or not, as it makes no difference it’s here to stay.
The question is can we control when they start using it and how much they use it? I would like to think we can, but they will reach a certain age where you can’t.
I remember my older children spending their entire lives on MSN messenger. They were straight on it as soon as they had left school and then Facebook arrived, followed quickly by Twitter, both of which demoted messenger and took over! Now both Facebook and Twitter are the leaders in social media. Will they be displaced from the top spot? I somehow doubt it.
So my four year old twins are growing up surrounded by social media. We have some new ones like Snapchat, Instagram and a few others which are probably being used by the younger generations.
My fear is at what age will they start to want to use social media and have a smart phone? After all they’re not even four years old yet, but they are aware of Facebook.
Would love to know your thoughts about your toddlers and social media.
15 Comments
theanxiousdragonsblog
February 12, 2016 at 7:29 am
I think it is fair to say most kids will have access to facebook before they are legally allowed to at 13. For my kids I set their profiles up for them myself with all the security I couls when they were both 11. They could only use it on the laptop in the lounge at that age. When they got to 13 they both had tablets, so my control over what they used lessened.
I dont think Twitter is something young teens should be using, and in my experience they did not want to. Snapchat I know is popular with older teens, but I would worry if my kids were still young about the pressure to send inappropriate pics on it.
I guess the best you can do is educate your girls about sensible internet use and the dangers than can come with these sites.
#BinkyLinky
Mackenzie Glanville
February 12, 2016 at 12:25 pm
I have an 11, 8 and 6 year old, my 11 year old really wants to be on Instagram. She is actually not a fan of Facebook. The other 2 don't really talk about social media. It really is tricky isn't it. At the moment Aspen is still too young at 11, but I know soon it will be harder to say no. I wish i had advice to give, but I'm lost!
Mummy Fever
February 12, 2016 at 2:10 pm
This is such a tricky one isn't it. My eldest is very aware but she is 9, the other three not so much. It is a very different world now and I guess we just have to find a happy and safe balance. I find it weird thinking that when I went to uni noone even had a mobile phone. #BinkyLinky
Emma
February 12, 2016 at 4:28 pm
My own children are very aware of social media (aged 5 & 9) but do not wish to use it thankfully. They both ask if I'm putting pics online. I do worry about online safety & vet their YouTube use as both love it!!! I do wonder how old they will be when they ask for their own Facebook accounts.
Random Musings
February 12, 2016 at 4:46 pm
I'm guessing it won't be long! I think for a really young child, it might be worth letting them choose a photo and uploading it to your profile so they feel included but don't have the risks associated with having their own. Thanks for hosting the #binkylinky
Debbie
Jessica Powell
February 12, 2016 at 8:00 pm
I totally agree that it's hear to stay so there's no point in fighting it really. Marianna's still to young yet, but I hope we'll be able to use it with her from a fairly young age, so she can learn what is and isn't acceptable before being let loose on her own with it. #binkylinky
Sarah Howe
February 12, 2016 at 8:43 pm
It's really tricky! My daughter isn't aware of social media yet but she knows I take pictures etc. There is no way she is going to have a Facebook account for a very long time but at the same time I don't think we can hide away from them knowing about it! You are right; it isn't going to go away! xx Thanks for hosting x
Sharon Saunders
February 13, 2016 at 2:25 pm
I totally get where you are coming from on this. My daughter and I were in the car the other day having a discussion about something (she's 7) and when we didn't have 'an answer' she simply said – give me your phone and I'll google it. It stopped me in my tracks – they are growing up in a totally different era and have the expectation from a very young age that everything from information to friends will be at their finger tips. I'm not at the stage where any of our kids are asking for social media yet but I'm pretty sure it's going to come sooner than I'm ready.
Helen Gandy – Beautiful Things
February 13, 2016 at 3:14 pm
I am always amazed at how much children know about technology these days…..it's scary! Thanks for hosting #binkylinky
Frank Priegue
February 13, 2016 at 4:57 pm
Your post put a smile on my face as I am currently writing a children and social media post myself. That said, social media and smartphones are among the current parental challenges. My son already knows how to flip through images on mommy's iPhone. Technology is a wonderful thing, but I wonder at what cost.
Dan (ShireDad)
February 13, 2016 at 9:23 pm
Even at the age of three, I can see that my daughter is going to be part of an on demand generation that has expectations quite different from what we're used to. That said, as a parent we have the role of mediating our children's actions until they're old enough to gradually take responsibility themselves. I completely get that children will want to continue contact friends outside of school on social media but they'll probably need to be high school age to manage that responsibility and apparently schools are now starting to teaching about being careful about what you publishing online.
Baby Isabella
February 13, 2016 at 9:27 pm
There is no denying we are living in a digital age. It's everything in moderation however my mummy won't be giving me a phone or access to the Internet unsupervised until I'm a lot older! Difficult and challenging subject x
john adams
February 14, 2016 at 6:05 am
Oh yes, my eldest has commented about putting images on Facebook once or twice. It's a bit hypocritical in some respects because I use images of my kids on my blog but I don't want them going near social media for a long, long, long time. Thanks for hosting #BinkyLinky
Agent Spitback
February 14, 2016 at 9:55 pm
My children do know about social media, like you say, it is here to stay and is very much a part of everyday lives. The teenagers use it of course but I tried to delay it as much as possible. Social media is not for the faint hearted and I think children are not emotionally matured to handle the consequences but you can't stop it. I think my answer would be it varies from child to child, depending on their emotionally maturity. Thanks for hosting #BinkyLinky
Something Crunchy Mummy
February 16, 2016 at 9:13 am
I think in this day and age it is inevitable that our children's lives will have a big impact from social media. I think we could try and keep them away from it but I think that would be very hard. #binkylinky xx