Today I’m sharing some of the red flags on your teen’s social media to watch for. Social media is inescapable now. If you haven’t already received a request, it probably won’t be too long before your pre-teen or teenager starts asking you for access to popular platforms.
Social media can, of course, be used for good and many amazing, heartwarming things have been made possible because of the power social media presents. However, there is also a darker side to social media and it cannot be ignored. That’s why I’ve compiled this list of red flags on your teen’s social media for you to keep an eye out for.
Red Flags on Your Teen’s Social Media Accounts to Watch For
Social media has been heavily linked to a decrease in self-esteem among teenagers, as well as a plethora of other mental health issues that teenagers can experience.
Unfortunately for parents and teenagers, social media can provide an almost consequence-free method of cyberbullying thanks to the many ‘secret’ features that social media platforms build into their apps. It is these add-ons that enable teenagers to stay undetected when participating in inappropriate behaviour.
For parents, the use of social media can be a big worry; that’s why we’ve put together this guide on the most important red flags on your teen’s social media accounts, so you know what to look for, and what to advise your kids when it comes to online safety.
Please pin this:
1 Cyberbullying is a Very Real Phenomenon
When it comes to the red flags on your teen’s social media accounts, cyberbullying has to be at the top of the list of things to watch out for.
It has been shown that manipulating other teenagers – especially females – into taking inappropriate pictures and videos, and then sharing this private media with other teenagers is a popular form of cyberbullying on today’s social media platforms.
This behaviour can cause serious mental health challenges for those teenagers involved. Other platform users with access to the images and videos are free to anonymously critique these teenagers’ bodies and personalities without any fear of consequence.
Often, sexual slurs, inappropriate propositions, and character assassinations follow this chain of non-consensual sharing. Once these images are out there, many teenagers have explained that bullying doesn’t always remain exclusive to social media. In fact, criticism and bullying can follow teenagers into schools and colleges, creating a very unpleasant experience.
Anonymous Bullies
It isn’t only inappropriate content sharing that leads to cyberbullying; many social media platforms allow users to operate completely anonymously. Anonymity plays a huge role in cyberbullying on social media, due to the ease at which teenagers can leave cruel and hurtful comments without any repercussions or consequences. It’s extremely easy for teenagers to fall victim to cyberbullying, even if they haven’t previously experienced any kind of bullying or negative behaviour at school or college.
If you’ve started to notice your teenager becoming anxious or withdrawn when they are talking about attending school or college, it may be worth taking a look at their social media activity. Something may be going on behind the scenes that you don’t know about, therefore it’s a good idea to check for apps that allow anonymous commenting, and be sure to have open communication channels with your teen.
Be mindful that many apps have options that delete messages / images once they’ve been seen, so if their history looks clear, you may need to ask them directly.
2. Many Social Media Platforms Allow Teenagers to Hide Their Activity From Their Parents
You may have decided to let your teenager use social media on the condition that you get to follow them. Although at first, this may seem like a clever way to keep track of what your teenagers are up to, with many popular social media platforms, this simply isn’t enough.
Both Instagram and Snapchat both have Private Story features that enable users to pick and choose their audience. This means that it’s exceptionally easy for teenagers to create Private Stories that only a select few users have access to, ensuring that only the people that they want to see their content can access it. This is bad news for parents of teenagers, as the parental account is likely to be excluded from the story. For me, them having a close friends list is one of the red flags on your teen’s social media usage to watch out for.
Snapchat also features the popular “My Eyes Only” camera roll. This requires the user to enter a pin code to access the images and videos that are stored here. Without the pin code, there’s no other way to access these images and they’re not stored anywhere else on your teenager’s phone.
Before allowing your teenager to create accounts on social media platforms such as Snapchat and Instagram, make sure to do your research and learn about any hidden features, including private stories and camera rolls. It’s very easy for teenagers to hide images, videos, and conversations between themselves and other users they’re not supposed to have contact with – including other teenagers or possible groomers.
3. Inappropriate Content
As parents, we want to shield our children from as much inappropriate content as possible. This doesn’t necessarily mean risque images and videos, but the full spectrum of influential online content that can easily be accessed by teens. Once again we can thank social media’s anonymity features for granting teenagers access to auto-deleting messages and images, therefore making it a piece of cake to share inappropriate images, hook up with strangers, and even purchase drugs.
Nudes, screenshots, and sexts can all be hidden from the prying eyes of parents in hidden camera rolls, but the danger lies with whoever this content is being shared with. It takes 2 seconds to take a screenshot of something and share it with others, even if it is an auto-deleting image. Once the content is out there on the internet, it’s extremely hard to get rid of and you lose control of who has access to it.
Using content filters and setting up filters with your internet providers can help to protect your teenagers from accessing inappropriate content online. However, when it comes to this type of subject, the best way to teach teenagers about the dangers is to provide an open communication channel and discuss topics in a relatable manner. We were all teenagers once, and ensuring that your teen feels they can come to you for advice is one of the best ways to help prevent red flags on your teen’s social media accounts from popping up.
Meanwhile, set up parental controls on their app store usage so they can’t download apps without your permission. This will hopefully prevent them from using vault apps to hide inappropriate images or apps from you.
This guest post was written by Tina Bailey. She’s been sharing her family adventures, over at MotherGeek for over 12 years now, and her lifestyle content at GirlsGospel for over 5 years. If you’ve enjoyed this post, why not check out her blogs for more.
Free Offers from Mum’s the Boss
Click the relevant image to access these free ebooks and templates from Mum’s the Boss:
- What to post on Social media ebook: Ideas for captions, hooks and topics for your socials
- How to Attract your Dream Life: EBook and Journal: Ask yourself these questions and you will see where you should focus yourself
- Home Financial Planner: Take care of your home finances, in association with Frugal Jools
Here are some more of my posts you may enjoy:
