Social Media Addiction in Teens & Ways to Prevent It

Social media apps have become a staple for every household in the digital age. Teens use social media to stay connected, up-to-date on the latest scoops, follow current trends, and get entertainment.

However, frequent and excessive use of social media is a problem that can morph into addiction in no time. Naturally, parents of teens (who are heavily dependent on social media) seek the help of parental control apps to help curb this menace. 

Let’s look into how social media influences teens’ mentality so we can help them fight this addiction.

Influence of Social Media on Teens’ Mentality

Not everything that glitters is gold! Though social media plays a vital role in modern-day lifestyle, it has several disadvantages that we cannot ignore. Social media platforms bring along a series of problems for parents and teens, such as cyberbullying, catfishing, online grooming, racism, unsafe teen dating apps, and unrealistic body/lifestyle standards. These issues can distort teens’ reality and disrupt their daily life in the following ways.

• Low Academic Performance

Nowadays, schools allow students to bring their cell phones to classrooms, mainly for security reasons so parents can get in touch with their kids in an emergency. Unfortunately, most kids misuse this opportunity and use social media in school when they should be learning instead. Consequently, their academic performance suffers, resulting in low grades.

• Technology Addiction

Consistent use of social media also leads to technology addiction. When teens stay busy surfing social media apps non-stop, they ultimately get addicted to their devices. Parents must mediate their teen’s social media and internet consumption before it gets too late.

• Unrealistic Body & Lifestyle Standards 

Another dangerous aspect of the constant use of social media is the distorted reality. Teens are particularly susceptible to being brainwashed by social media’s portrayal of unrealistic lifestyle standards. They idolize celebrities, influences, and friends who seem to be living a life of luxury or have exalting beauty standards. Judging their lifestyle or body according to the standards conformed by social media may lead to teen depression or anxiety. 

• Awkward Social Behavior

Indeed, social media is the hub of fashion, trends, gossip, and the like. It is quite entertaining too. But, the endless scrolling on social media apps can make you feel lonely too. Relentless use of social media with little to no in-person social interactions may gradually lead to awkward social behavior in kids and teens.

Understandably, parents lean on parental control apps to prevent social media addiction in their teenage kids. 

How Can Parents Control Apps Curb Social Media Addiction in Teens?

FamilyTime, one of the best parental control apps, has worked tirelessly to address digital problems and ease modern-age parenting. It is the perfect solution for all your digital parenting problems. It offers the following features that can reduce social media dependence in teens effectively.  

• Screen Time Limit – This feature work wonders for parents and kids. Parents can limit their kids’ screen or social media consumption by specifying a set time limit for their kids, e.g., an hour. This can help cut back screen time without any hassles.
• App Blocker – Another way for parents to prevent social media addiction in their teens is by restricting access to all addictive, unsafe, or inappropriate apps. This particular feature blocks any newly downloaded app by default and notifies parents. They review the application and decide to approve/block it on their kids’ devices from their own parental devices.
• Internet Filter – One of the most effective techniques to beat social media addiction is to prevent unsafe social media platforms from opening in browsers. The Internet Filter can help parents prevent their teens from using indecent social media websites. 
• Social Media Monitoring – Very few parental control apps offer social media monitoring features. One of those apps is FamilyTime. On persistent demand from the parents, it has finally rolled out YouTube and TikTok Monitoring features to ease parents’ lives. They can now manage and oversee what their kids do on these platforms and intervene if needed to steer them in the right direction.

Final Thoughts

Parenting the teenagers of the digital age is no easy feat. Parents cannot safeguard teens from the dark side of social media and prevent its addiction in their kids without external help. That is where parental control apps like FamilyTime come in to save the day.

So, what are you waiting for? Explore its extensive features and sign up to protect your kids from a world of dangers.