Raising a Connected Generation?: Navigating Social Media, Phones, and Technology in a Child's Social Life

You see, in this ever changing digital world that children are daily experiencing, simple things like how common social media, cellphones and technology have become in their lives. While these tools have their merits, the story of how they can impact social development in young children is a massively branching web of opportunities and challenges.

Guardians, educators and parent must understand this interplay in order to take proactive efforts for healthy social development during the digital age.

One day, technology could in fact be a powerful unifier. When used properly, social media platforms can be a help for children who have single classmate who share same interest, as well as maintaining friendships across the geography such and even build supportive web of online community.

Internet may offer a lifeline to people with similar views for a child who feels like they are all alone in their surroundings, it is more than just connecting geographically. Educational applications and online collaborative tools can also indirectly help us to create better social relationships at school, fostering cooperationas well as teamwork and problem-solving skills in kids.

And the downsides of an endemic existence are just as significant. Perhaps the quickest problem to notice is the reduction of skills for face-to-face interaction. If kids interact through screens, they may lose key nonverbal clues, empathy and ability for dealing with compromising social events that require direct relationships. How so ever if in small group environments such as a text message or as the predominant form of interfacing with peers; subtle communication, listening and conflict resolution can be stifled.

Social media with it's Instagram filtered reality can also lead to comparison and unrealistic expectations that ultimately lead to anxiety/misery in turn. Such that children more so are getting the "highlight reel" effect, everyone's life is perfect and naturally interesting in the early years of life. And with that constant in-vogue exposure children understand very early that they do not allow themselves to stretch potential limits in face of the real world and start withdrawing into their worlds that are no less shiny. In actual, the sheer pressure to be an 'online presence' and Fear of Missing Out (FOO) can disrupt a major social tie.

Too much screen time also frequently cuts into physical activity and real-world social play. Skimming over feeds or gaming can be the time robbed from a playground, pretending with siblings or playing organized sports (all of which are important for interactions, collaboration and emotion regulation). An increasingly sedentary and isolated existence may supersede the actual connection of childhood, most commonly found in chance outdoor activities and shared physical experiences.

A balanced strategy will be required to negotiate this uncharted landscape. Kids need to have open conversations about digital responsibilities, and the perils of online life and social media. You must set guidelines around screen time, get kids doing offline stuff and model good technology use. By making technology merely a tool for learning and connecting, not the controlling factor of their social life. Through which we can bring an insight to the children to grow up as overall human beings socially and technologically wise and hence having success for both online as well as offline world.