From a recent survey by Straits Times (10 to 12 age range)
Singapore:
- 85 percent have smartphones
- Most popular platforms: WhatsApp, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook
- 50 percent of parents fear limiting social media could affect their relationships
US: (2018 Common Sense Media survey (13 to 17 age range)
- 89 percent have smartphones
- 70 percent use social media every day
- Most popular platforms: Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook
- 72 percent of students think social media manipulates them to spend more time on their devices
SAS middle school parents' perspective:
73 percent use WhatsApp
47 percent use Instagram
SAS middle school students' perspective:
Current social media trends:
- Chat apps (WhatsApp, Facebook messenger, and Google Chat
- Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok
New apps:
- Reddit, Discord, and Houseparty
Less popular apps:
- Facebook and Twitter
Other popular apps (not social media):
- Roblox, Fortnite, Minecraft, YouTube
Why is social media so appealing to teens?
The teenage brain is going through a major development cycle. It is primed for social media.
- Social connection is their primary driver
- Their brain is very sensitive to dopamine
- Teens have less inhibition
When is an appropriate time for your child to start using social media?
The recommendation: Not before thirteen years old
- Context is important. Social media does serve some very useful functions keeping expat kids connected with family and friends back home or from previous postings.
- Beware of the pleading ‘Everyone else has an account’ excuse.
How do you get your child into social media the safe and healthy way?
1. Be the guide
Shared Use
- Create a joint/family social media account.
- Talk through the setting up of privacy settings
- Share the creation of posts to demonstrate appropriate content, language, etc
- Jointly engage in chat, likes, and comments with family and friends
2. Be the mentor
Semi-Independent Use
- Jointly create a social media account for your tween/teen
- Talk through ideas for posts/content
- Guide the creation of posts & content
- Share access and review content, posts, etc and authorize posting
3. Be the follower
Independent Use
- Review your child’s personal social media account (check privacy settings, etc)
- Become their first follower
- Check their posts, comment, etc as a follower
4. Be explicit about expectations throughout the social media progression
Strategies for working towards screen-time and social media balance:
Social media and Singapore law:
Violations of Singapore law:
- Posts threatening racial and religious harmony in Singapore
- Posts showing contempt towards the Singapore courts and judiciary system
- Posts communicating falsehoods
In Singapore, people are not charged directly for cyberbullying, but they are charged with crimes related to one of these:
- Flaming: using provocative words against a person in a hostile online interaction;
- Harassment: continually sending vicious messages to an individual;
- Cyberstalking: ongoing online harassment and denigration that causes a person to fear for his/her safety, e.g. via threatening messages;
- Denigration: sending rumors or untruths to hurt a person’s reputation;
- Impersonation: posting offensive messages under another’s name;
- Trickery: fooling someone into sharing personal information which is then posted online;
- Outing: posting confidential or embarrassing information about a person; and
- Exclusion: purposely excluding someone from an online group.
What are some things kids do?
- Send an intimate photo to someone without their consent.
- Collect intimate photos of people they know or do not know and sharing it with others.
- Trick someone to send nude or suggestive photos to be mean or blackmail them.
- AirDrop an intimate image to someone’s device without their consent.
- Paste someone’s face onto an intimate photo and sending it out.
- Impersonate people by creating an account using someone else’s name and information.
If your child receives mean messages, inappropriate photos, or requests from fake accounts:
1. Tell the other user to stop and tell them that they don’t want to receive images/messages like that.
2. Report the user to the social media site.
3. Block the user.
4. On some platforms they may also need to “Restrict” the user.
5. Tell a trusted adult.
6. Consider reporting to the police.
Click here to access the slide deck.
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