The Good, the Bad, and the Filtered: A Social Media Primer for Parents

Is it possible to filter what videos my kids are watching on social media apps like TikTok and YouTube? Is it important for me to be familiar with What’s App, Snapchat and Twitch? Which platforms should my tween or teen absolutely avoid? What’s the best way to monitor their social media activity effectively? How involved should I be in the content to which my kids are exposed? At what age should I allow my kids to use social media?

Social media is undeniably a major influence in the social lives of adolescents today, and let’s face it –  it’s important for parents to be knowledgeable and sophisticated about it in order to parent their teens and tweens effectively. Be in the driver’s seat when it comes to guiding and controlling your kids’ media use and safeguarding your children’s mental health and well-being. This special Children and Screens #AskTheExperts’ webinar, “The Good, the Bad, and the Filtered: A Social Media Primer for Parents,” held on March 23, 2022, at 12pm, provided a practical “how-to,” breaking down what parents really need to know about each platform. An outstanding panel of interdisciplinary experts walked the audience through the apps that kids are using today and explained unique challenges and opportunities, best practices for monitoring children’s social media, and the skills all youth need to protect themselves. Suggestions for online and offline interventions to support healthy social media use were also provided.