When we look back on our childhood, we recall adventures in the woods, writing stories, creating games. But, what will the kids of today look back on??? Apps.
Singaporeans stand out in the list of the most active social media users on the planet.
Yes, you read it right! To your surprise the republic has the second highest social penetration rate with 59% people engrossed deeply in the world of social media, which is simply more than double the global average, i.e. 26%. It is also reported that 2 in 3 S’poreans are addicted to social networking sites.
As far as the use of social media in Singapore is considered,
- It includes all age groups, ranging from kids to teenagers and adults in their 40’s and 50’s.
- Popular social media channels include Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.
- Every channel has a remarkable following of roughly 2.0 to 2.5 million users.
Singaporeans need to understand that it is turning massive. The excessive use of social media can truly cause Addiction!
According to a study by insurer AIA, people here spend 3.7 hours online per day on non-work usage and six in 10 admit to being addicted to social networking. While everyone has different reasons to use social media, the fact remain constant- youngsters are ultimately getting addicted to it in some form or the other.
Of course, it doesn’t mean that it has adverse effects solely. There are some major pros of being SOCIAL, which cannot be ignored!
Positive Effects Of Social Media
Teenagers in Singapore use social media for different purposes, mainly to:
- Stay connected with their friends
- Make new friends
- Click and share images with their close ones
- Play games
- Do homework
- Promote things that they like or believe in
Using social media helps them to:
- Connect with new people with shared interests
- Boost their creativity by sharing artistic and musical projects
- Extend their ideas by creating videos, blogs, and podcasts
Negative social media effects on children in Singapore
Below are listed some negative effects which are related to youngsters who are now social media addicted. Have a look:
#1 Obesity and Depression
“The youth of the past often played in the rain or ran around in fields, but they are nowadays more desk-bound, and lack exercise.”
Obsession with technology has a bad impact on physical as well as mental health. The excessive time spent in front of screens may lead to snacking and mindless eating. And, this can increase your weight, causing obesity. Also, sitting at one place in the same posture, can not only lead to increase in your body weight, but also depression.
#2 Absence of sleep
Sleep is essential for children’s health. Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, and so on… spending their maximum time on these, they cut down on their sleep. It becomes more vital to update things like what they had for lunch, or what they plan to do for the weekend, thereby ignoring their sleep. And this very absence of sleep can bring about numerous issues like bad focus, muscle aches and memory slips, and long term health issues related to anxiety and stress.
#3 Isolation from family and friends
Your child may feel isolated from his family and even from his friends. It could be because he feels like a ‘misfit’- that he doesn’t fit in with the way that different people or friends around him act or think. It could lead to confusion and even disappointment.
#4 Cyber bullying
Cyber bullying on social media is a grave issue. One of the major risks of cyber bullying is that it can reach a child or a teen 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. When your children experiences being harassed on the web, they may get distinctly pulled back, and unwilling to go to class and communicate with peers.
This is a two dimensional issue as your child may even become engaged in the bullying of someone else on the web. Statistics show that kids who bully by the age of eight are four times as likely to have a criminal record when they reach 30.
#5 Emotional Implications
Psychological experts caution that social media websites can have emotional implications for children who are now experiencing low self-esteem or confidence. Such teens may judge their victory by the number of friends they have on Facebook or if they are included in a particular group of people. This may lead to diminished confidence.
#6 Absence Of Interpersonal Skills
An excessive amount of social media usage can influence your kid’s ability to create strong interpersonal relationships. Your child is supple, and the flood of information can overpower him.
There was news spread all over the Internet about Mr. Aloysius Kee, who stayed online continuously sitting in one chair and stood up only to get fresh. This damaged his interpersonal skills that were important for success in real life. You can see in the image above how he has been overcome with obesity.
#7 Sharing too much
Sharing is the base of social media, and it can be a wonderful thing. Staying connected with family and friends can be adventurous. Social media really helps a ton to stay in touch with our loved ones who stay far away.
But sharing too much stuff can be risky. In daily life, sharing your personal life on social media like Facebook can cause spreading of personal information which can sometimes surround you with difficult situations.
Also READ: 6 Pictures of kids you should not post on social media