When is a good time to start letting your child use social media? What is the most effective way to curb a teen from using their mobile device for too long during the day? In this increasingly digital world we live in where children as young as 4 or 5, sometimes, own smart phones and know their way around an iPad app; and where everyone in the family may have their own device, parents now have a new set of challenges in reigning in all that screen time.
A little while ago, Emmy nominated series Larry King Now focused on the health and wellness of social media. During the show, Larry King welcomed a panel of social media experts and influencers including Pulitzer Prize-nominated author Nicholas Carr, to evaluate the good, the bad, and the ugly of the ever-expanding digital world.
I was most interested in the segments related to social media and mobile phone use by children. Clinical psychologist Dr. Jeff Nalin discusses the appropriate age for children to start using social media and provides tips for lessening use among children who already have access to smartphones and apps.
Watch the brief clip below about this topic and then watch the full episode on Ora.TV HERE!
I also highly recommend parents head over to CommonSense Media to find tons of tips, guides and information for parents (and educators) on helping their children navigate the digital world safely.