Social Families
Social media week is approaching here in Toronto and I have just signed myself up! I’m really looking forward to hearing what the future of social media holds as well as how to use it better for business. I’m also attending a talk called the Social Family to discuss how to appropriately integrate social media into our children’s lives as well as use social media responsibly as parents. Should parents be posting videos of their kids on youtube? Should baby photos be all over Facebook? And what about when the kids get older, when should they have their first smart phone? when do we teach them about computers and the internet and how can we ensure that they’re using these things responsibly? There are two sides to this story and I’m going to explore them briefly here. Although I’m sure I’ll have all new insight after social media week (Feb 13-17 in Toronto) so stay tuned!
Get ‘em Online!
Kids are going to need to learn about social media and technology eventually, the better and the sooner they understand it, they better they’ll get by in school and in their careers. I think it’s also true that if we get them introduced to online interactions early, the less likely they are to use this irresponsibly down the road. The novelty of having their own phone, their own computer, an internet connection and a Facebook account won’t be as strong if we slowly integrate technology into our children’s lives right from the start. PLUS there are so many kid-friendly versions of social media (Disney’s Club Penguin for example) and so much to learn by being online in age-appropriate ways. There is no sense burying our heads in the sand on this one – get ‘em online!
Not Yet!
Social media is going to be an inevitable part of everyone’s lives and so too, as far as I can see, are smart phones and constantly being connected. I think if that’s going to be our path, if we are definitely going to have to engage in endless online communication then why not let our kids be kids for as long as possibly. They will pick up what they need to learn about technology and all of its many offerings when the time is right. No child under the age of ten needs a cell phone let alone a Blackberry or an iPad! We all got along without these luxuries as kids and I think we’re all better for it. There is too high a risk of bullying and exposing our children to social predators by getting them logged on from an early age so prolonging that until they’re able to understand the risks is going to be my approach.
What do you think? When would you get your child their first cell phone? Would you get them online as soon as possible or delay it for as long as you could?
