Facebook is a popular community-building platform. It doesn’t need any introduction. Facebook became an overnight friendly gesture from the start of its creation. Kids understand it very fast, and older people are struggling to adapt. Either way, everyone is using it. If you have difficulty finding people in your house, you might find them on Facebook. It is very resourceful.
Without responsibility, any tool can be a weapon. Water and venom are similar, but we cannot use them equally. We must take precautions. So is this app safe for kids? Can Facebook monitoring apps help them be safe on Facebook
Facebook has helped build communities, carried out much philanthropy, and helped people meet after a long time. However, it has many flaws; in most cases, kids are the victims.
Facebook doesn’t have weaknesses, and the fault lies within the heart of the bearer.
Advantages of Facebook:
Facebook has a problem-solving capacity related to an organization and has helped project ideas and efficiently organize an event. Similarly, Facebook has a good influence on children as well.
- Facebook provides a learning environment.
- It helps to get in touch with more friends at a time.
- Experience grows through the publication of other’s life events.
- It helps to maintain long-distance and long-term relationships.
- Kids have community involvement.
- Facebook teaches you to reach out to someone with a friend request. It helps kids to make new relationships and builds confidence.
Problems with Facebook:
Cyberbullying:
Facebook is an open arena to make friends and communities. There is no bar to creating an account and sending friend requests or messages to other people on Facebook, and it’s the fundamental way of working on Facebook.
A perfect space for offenders. Kids are famous for their innocence. I am not forcing humor here, but it is the truth. You can say anything to the kids; if they listen, they will believe you. And Facebook provides a connection for strangers with their kids. It’s like leaving your kid in the park and guarding the door.
Anyone, from a bully to a pedophile, can approach your kid and harass them. It is known as cyberbullying, and cases are rising every day where most victims are kids.
Sexting
Now, taking naked pictures of oneself was a reason for embarrassment in the past. But thanks to social networking sites like Facebook, it has become a trend. Kids post nude or seminude pictures on the network without their parents knowing about it.
Without knowing about the risks related to the publication of nude content, kids do it just for approval and to show off. They exchange messages and photos with strangers whom they meet in the network. You may think your kid won’t do it, but they need a gentle nudge.
Social networking is ugly among kids, and everyone competes for appreciation. And as a result, kids do immeasurable harm to themselves by sending raw, nude pictures of themselves to possible vandals.
Dopamine effect:
It’s proven that social networks like Facebook are addictive and have dopamine effects on people. That is the reason it feels good when somebody comments on our pictures. The negative side of this effect is that you think wrong about yourself if someone says something negative or makes fun of you in your comment sections.
Kids seek validation from their friends and Facebook groups, and if it doesn’t happen, it degrades their mentality. They become self-conscious and lose their confidence.
Methods of control:
Talk to the kids:
You should maintain transparent communication with your children. Children in their pre-teens and teens tend to hide information from their parents. With all the curiosities and body changes, kids are embarrassed to open up to their parents.
Facebook is another parent they discover with whom they don’t have an image to maintain in such a case. They can search for answers to any questions or share their radical views while anonymous, and they don’t have to fear judgment.
You have to talk to your kids before they turn to someone insidious. All people are not ill-minded, but it’s natural for predators to swing by prey’s habitat. And kids are innocent prey.
Mobile spyware program:
Technology is a problem solver. Many spy software is present that provide a safety net around your kids. You can monitor all their activities on Facebook and know about the contacts you need to become more familiar with.
Mobile application like MobileSpy.io, Qustodio, and mSpy provides an abstraction layer between you and your kids. You must sign up for an account and provide the required information on your relationship with the target kids. Like that, all data from the target’s device will be in your dashboard.
You will be alert if someone is trying to approach your kids negatively or if your kid has some objectionable manner. Either way, you can save your kid.
Conclusion:
Facebook is merely a tool, a representation of our community. The negative impact of Facebook is equal to that of real-life surroundings. It depends on how your kids behave on meeting strangers; they rush away in another direction or shake hands with them.
It depends on your teachings and awareness of how much your kid is safe from Facebook. Giving a trustful environment to express their ideas and take healthy feedback would be best. Most importantly, it would help if you made them listen to your advice.