Our study found that in adolescence, children shifted from using technology under the supervision and/or approval of their parents to more independent use. While a newfound sense of confidence is sometimes attached to children moving into this more independent use of technology. The ways children’s technology use changed closely aligned with what is important to this age group: communication, hobbies/interests and entertainment.
Many of the parent participants discussed this notion of being ‘ready’ for social media.
Parents’ often considered that being ready for social media coincided with a child reaching a certain milestone, such as a particular age or entering a new year level at school.
While some parents had specific, set ideas about when they believed their child would be ready, often circumstances would change, meaning that changes and allowances had to be made.
Many parents acknowledging that their child will simply ‘need’ social media in order to keep up with their friends.
We found a big shift the children experienced was that the use of social apps changing existing friendships in both beneficial and challenging ways.
While a newfound sense of confidence is sometimes attached to children moving into this more autonomous use of technology, specific features of social apps such as location sharing and the ability to choose who can see content adds a level of anxiety to some of the child participants. This also added a sense of pressure onto the child in terms of their own ‘performance’ on these apps.
Conversations to have with your child: What are 3 things we can agree on, that will keep you safe when using social media? What is something you are worried about in using social media independently and together how can you work towards making it better?