A handy guide to healthy social media use

Most teenagers use some form of social media and have a profile on a social networking site. Many visit these sites every day.

Social networking is hugely popular. Many young people are sophisticated in the way they use social media apps and websites, tailoring their communication for different audiences, and accessing them from a range of devices including smartphones, tablets, and games consoles.

But social media, like all forms of public communication, comes with some risks. Not all of these risks turn into actual problems; and if children never face any risks, they never learn how to deal with them. By helping your child understand what the risks are, you can play a big part in preventing them from turning into problems.

There are plenty of good things about social media — but also many risks and things kids and teens should avoid.

We like this handy social media guide produced by KidsHealth to give you some pointers on healthy social media use and how to stay safe online.

Keep talking and stay involved

In a mobile age, children can’t be completely protected, even by the best privacy controls; another child may use different settings. So it’s important to keep talking to your child about the implications of social media. Getting a sense of what they think is a useful place to start; you may be surprised by how much thought they may have given to the issues. Encourage your child to think carefully about the way they, and others behave online, and how they might deal with difficult situations.