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Start Talking!
Know! New Year,
New Rules – Cell Phone Agreement
12/12/2017
The New Year is always a good time to hit the reset button and
establish any new rules you may need. When it comes to our kids and
their phones, this may especially apply as we learn the potential
connection between smartphone use and depressed and suicidal teens.
Social media can be accessed through a variety of digital devices, but
the smartphone is the tool tweens and teens use most to share posts,
pictures and personal info.
There are several key pieces to social media that can cause a teen harm
including cyberbullying, picture perfect lives, social isolation and a
sleep deficit. Please refer to the previous tip, Know! Social Media is
Bringing Our Teens Down, for the specific connections to each of those.
Now we must ask ourselves what can we, as parents, do to help protect
our children from the potential downward smartphone spiral? Here are
some simple, but effective steps:
When it comes to cyberbullying:
It is critical to engage our kids in regular and ongoing conversations
on the topic of cyberbullying. Youth must be clear on what is
acceptable and unacceptable behavior online (and in-person) and they
must know what to do if they find themselves being bullied.
When it comes to those supposed picture perfect lives:
Remind your child that the pictures they see online are only a glimpse
into another person’s life – and even then, it’s likely only the pretty
parts and only with the help of filters.
When it comes to social isolation:
Limit the time you allow your teen to be online to two hours or less
per day – and encourage activities that benefit their mental
well-being, like fresh air, exercise, volunteering, meeting new
friends, and participating in group activities (to connect with others
in the non-virtual world).
When it comes to sleep deficit:
Remove the temptation of late night texting and internet surfing by
charging your child’s phone in your bedroom each night. Another thing
you can do is sit down with your child and create a cell phone contract
to establish or re-establish the rules. Here is a sample cell phone
agreement created by youth advocate and expert Josh Shipp.
Remember to follow Start Talking! on Twitter and Like us on Facebook.
Learn how to get the drug prevention conversation started at
StartTalking.Ohio.Gov.
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