Why social media could be the making of your teen ...

Okay so not many of you like the effect social media has on your teen. Yet you probably use it on a daily basis… it is present in pretty much every part of your life. I know, I use it a lot as a mum – meeting up with friends, finding out about local events and getting my voice heard by more mums and teens.

Now if your teen is mindlessly scrolling through pictures of perfect lives (as denoted by photoshop) and not doing a lot else then that is worrying. Social media and the perfect image of materialism and vanity that it portrays, is very dark and egotistical and can lead your teen to believe that they are very inadequate which is leading to an astronomical increase in mental health issues amongst teens. If you haven’t had the conversation with them about who they follow then maybe it is time.

However, if your teen is using social media for good – talking to friends, keeping up to date with local events and following people worth following then it could be great motivation for what they want in life.

You see, I find it almost impossible to teach someone without knowing what their end game is. What their goal is … I also meet so many teenagers who haven’t even thought about what they want to do in the next year let alone in the next 5 – but social media can be a real motivator. You can hashtag studygram to find tonnes of teens revising and helping each other. You can find endless motivational quotes, physicist and scientists posting lives of things they do every day (to name a couple of subjects)

Don’t see social media as a weapon against your teens self-esteem. Use it for good and have the conversation with them. You can find people they may be interested in and look up to. Get them passionate about something other than buying a fast car and a flashy watch. Help them to get excited by the future and watch them want to work hard and be hungry for success!

If you want any more advise on the above, or how I have helped hundreds of teens to be successful, get in contact!