800 contacts on social networks are not 800 friends
The social networks They have put us in contact with many people and have brought a new way of interacting with other people. However, this can not be confused with a new mechanic with which to make friends. The contacts of these platforms do not meet the necessary requirements to be considered as members of a group of friends.
This is how we wanted to warn in the 38 Congress of the Federation of Associations of Parents of Students of the Schools of Promotion of Teaching Centers. The participants of this event have reminded parents of the importance of educating new generations in social networks, especially to make them understand that "800 contacts are not 800 friends".
Confusion of friendship
The speakers of this congress explain that it is not difficult to get hooked to social networks and confuse the people who are inside them with friends. The flow of messages that is generated in these platforms is vertiginous and the information that can be shared with other users creates a link that can confuse the minors who use these platforms.
The feeling that minors have when using social networks is to be talking to a friend. That is why they remain confused and they believe that they are actually interacting with people close to them and are hooked to these platforms as it is through where they interact most with other users. Finally they end up being controlled by these pages.
Children must be taught that friendship is much more than asking someone how their day has gone. The creation of this link It means spending time, seeing yourself in person, maintaining direct contact, etc. Therefore parents are encouraged to encourage their children to stay with their acquaintances, invite them to eat at home and always take some time to go down to play at the park instead of staying in front of a screen.
Otherwise, children increasingly isolate themselves and end up turning their houses into small islands where they are deprived of true contact in person and that ends up becoming true friendship. The first step for that is to foster the bond between parents and children and prevent the latter from being confined in their own world.
Parental monitoring
Parents should watch not only because their children do not confuse contacts in
social networks with friends, but for the use they give to these platforms. These are some of the things that you have to look out:
- The privacy of the wall of the social network determined with respect to their parents depends on the age the child has. When the children are older we can not control their conversations and their messages, but it is good to ask them who they are with and who their contacts are. When they are smaller, if it is good to supervise the activity and enter their profile, it may be the best way to avoid a problem that can become more complicated without this measure.
- Put schedules and limits to the use of teenagers from social networks. It is important that parents supervise that they do not connect during study time or at family gathering times such as meals.
- To see your profile, again we must take into account the age of the adolescent. Making a profile of your own and being your child's contact is very useful. It is also good to sit next to him when surfing the net and share it with parents.
- It's good intervene in the activity what the son does on social networks commenting on it, asking about it and correcting them. It is good to be aware of the performance of the adolescents and advise them to act in the right way, thus promoting communication between parents and children.
Damián Montero