Social online networks are often used for this purpose. Starting with children and young people, social networks are now very important in all age groups. Our cooperation partner Saferinternet has published tips on this, which we would be happy to pass on here.
10 tips on social networks for children and young people.
Social networks such as Facebook, Instagram and Co. are very important for today's communication.
10 tips on social networks for children and young people.
- Allow entry or not?
Interest in social networks usually arises when friends, peers or important influencers are also active there. The age at which this happens varies, but in very few cases does it correspond to the official age rating of the networks . When they first come into contact, the children are probably younger than the law and terms of use require. Bans on the use of social media are still not very effective. It is better to accompany the children through their first experiences. - Accompany on entry.
Accompany your child in setting up the profile and in the first phases. Think together about what data will be published and how the network will be used. Keep checking your child's online presence, especially in the first few weeks. If your child allows it, you can also become friends with each other online and get an insight into your child's ongoing activities. - Be smart.
What do children and young people do on social networks? What are they used for and what are the possible risks? Explore the networks together with your child and get smart. You may also be able to use this knowledge professionally, prepare to be surprised. - Be and remain the contact person.
Sharing your children's lives, appreciating their activities and interests, this also shows children that their parents are interested in them. This is an important prerequisite for children to turn to their parents in confidence in problematic situations. - Respect children's privacy.
Even though children usually value communication with their parents when they first start using social networks, there comes a time when they distance themselves from their parents online. Let the children walk this path! Accept that your children no longer want to depend solely on you. - Be prepared for an emergency.
If problems arise in a social network, children need reliable and competent contacts. As parents, it is not always easy to take on this role: it is often shocking for them to find out what language, content and tone belong to the children's world. Parents must remain calm and give their children support. Take a deep breath and think objectively together about what needs to be done now. Take your child's side, even if you don't always approve of their behavior. By the time your child decides to reach out to you, he or she has probably been suffering for a while. - Appreciate knowledge.
If you are not very good at using social networks, it can help to ask the children directly. See these discussions with your child as part of relationship work. Don't judge your child for following a YouTuber whose language or content you find terrible. Instead, try to understand your child's fascination. - Accept the children's no.
It is not uncommon for parents to be active on social networks before their own children. There is a temptation to post pictures of your own children too. Be very cautious here and do not do this without the children's consent . Even small children usually have a clear opinion on this. Be a good role model and take them seriously! - Question online acquaintances.
Your child will repeatedly come into contact with people on social networks that he or she would never have met offline. This is almost impossible to prevent. It is therefore important that your child is able to assess such people . Your child also needs to know how to defend themselves if they are blackmailed or find themselves in other critical situations. Agree with your child on rules for possible meetings with such online acquaintances: only in the presence of an adult, in a busy place where there are many people. - Question the truth.
There is often content on social networks that turns out to be untrue (“ fake news ”). Practice with your child how assess content . Images are particularly important here . Children and young people are particularly easily influenced by images. However, it is not uncommon for these to be taken out of context, edited or distorted.
Related to the topic: 10 tips on information literacy for children and young people .
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1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )

