Background information

Whatsapp, Ιnstagram, Υoutube, Facebook etc. are social media, also called social networks, which children and young people know and particularly love. In general, the term “social media” refers to all networks over which digital communication takes place and with the help of emoticons an emotional participation of each individual can be expressed accordingly. Children and young people today cannot imagine a world without the Internet.The boundary between the real and the virtual world is becoming increasingly blurred by sharing real and virtually changed experiences via social networks.

Do young people share everything with each other? The answer is no. The images and lifestyles presented on social networks do not reflect the real life environment of adolescents. Instead, their posts on social media show their ideal picture of themselves. Before clicking the “Share” button, they filter and optimize their everyday life, which they then share in their profile. In fact, they don’t just share every detail of their lives what they want others to know about them – through special filters.

Pleasure or hurt them? It would be easy to blame the media, but that would not be right. Social networks have been developed for entertainment purposes and to meet the great need for communication. Nevertheless, the application (intensity, frequency, duration) sometimes shows the opposite of the desired results. It is clear that in cases where a child spends a lot of time on social networks, it neglects other needs and obligations of its daily life, such as: B. the need to socialize, school and personal activities etc. The effects of social networks on a child’s psyche can be negative, in some cases even catastrophic. Social networks can exert a lot of pressure due to role models, the enormous density of information, the fake news and the constant aggressive bombing with advertising. Adolescents often lack the necessary reflectivity to distinguish reality from virtual reality.

Following – Fomo (or Fear of missing out) is a term related to the fear of “missing something that is happening” and was created through the use of social media. People who live with this fear are constantly having worrying that someone else will have an exciting experience from which they are excluded, which unfortunately leads to them staying online for long amounts of time to find out what others are doing. This creates a vicious circle from which it is difficult to get out. It is stressful to have the impression that you are always online and to have to respond immediately to messages. This pressure is also perceived by many adults, sometimes even by children. Young girls in particular, according to social scientist Kara Booker, have a strong sense of fear and pressure from social media because girls are more prone to comparison. Having to win more and more “friends” or “followers” can put some girls under a lot of pressure.

The digital community is now an integral part of our society. But would you ever describe your concerns or interests to a stranger you meet on the way home? Would you entrust him with how you plan your weekends, your plans for the coming summer vacation, your goals for the coming years or the places you would like to visit with your partner? Would you show him photos of personal moments or on the map their address or the address of your workplace? This happens on social media, non-stop, without users being able to influence who has access to your content.