When your teenager is glued to their smart phone or tablet, it can be difficult to know what kind of activity they get up to online and how this can affect them. We\u2019ve put together a list of some popular apps and descriptions for you to refer to when you won\u2019t get much more from your teenager than a grunt!<\/p>\n
Research shows spending lots of time online looking at pictures of celebrity idols, tweeting the latest fad diet or pinning new workout routines can be detrimental to a young person\u2019s self-esteem (Andreassen, Pallesen, & Griffiths, 2016; Burrow & Rainone, 2016; Woods & Scott, 2016).<\/p>\n
Although social media apps often ban content that condones or promotes eating disorders, pro-anorexia or thinspiration posts can often be found on social media apps and can be very harmful to recovery. We have included some advice on online safety for your teenager below which we hope you will find helpful.<\/p>\n
Facebook<\/strong> allows you to connect with friends, share photos, post statuses of what you\u2019re up to, create events and pages, and message your friends privately. Facebook\u2019s security settings are flexible, so you can choose whether your page is public or private.<\/p>\n Facebook allows others to \u2018like\u2019 or comment on your statuses or photos. Similarly to other social media apps, young people tend to try hard to get as many likes or followers\/friends as possible and often their self-worth and confidence is tied into their latest post and the number of likes they have received.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Tik Tok\u00a0<\/strong>allows users to view, create and share short videos with people around the world. You do not have to be following an account to see their content. The app’s algorithm recommends personalised content to the user based on their interactions:<\/p>\n Essentially, the more you like, share or watch a certain type of video, the more likely you will keep seeing this type of content.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Twitter<\/strong> is another popular and long standing social media app, and is the home of the hashtag! Twitter allows you to post short, public messages called \u201ctweets\u201d, which can include photos, videos or links. You can \u201cfollow\u201d celebrities and well-known figures.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Instagram<\/strong> is a popular photo sharing app. Users are able to take photos, edit or apply a filter and share it within Instagram and other social networking sites such as Facebook, twitter and Tumblr. Like Facebook you can \u201clike\u201d each other\u2019s photos.<\/p>\n Similar to Tik Tok, Instagram also uses an algorithm to provide personalised recommendations based on other posts a user has interacted with.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Snapchat<\/strong> is a messaging service that allows people to send photos or short videos to each other. Seconds after opening the \u2018snap\u2019 it will disappear and the user can no longer see them. However, those receiving the snap are able to print screen the image and save it to their own phone!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Pinterest<\/strong> is a post sharing app tailored to suit the interests of the user. The user is able search and browse through posts (or pins) that fit their interests. You can create boards for particular themes by pinning the photos presented to you, and more suggestions are made based on what you pin.<\/p>\n Pinterest has the option of \u2018reporting\u2019 pins that are related to self-harm, however often these posts take a while to be removed and new posts are uploaded every day.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Tumblr<\/strong> is a popular blogging platform where users can post on their boards, follow other bloggers or search posts using keywords. It allows users to post content such as photos, pictures, text, music, videos and more. Unlike most other social media apps, Tumblr accounts are public and cannot be made private.<\/p>\n Tumblr has a content policy that bans blogs that promote or advocate self- harm, suicide or eating disorders, however millions of posts are created every day and not every post can be checked for this content, often they rely on blogs being \u2018reported\u2019.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Youtube<\/strong> is a well-known social media platform for sharing videos. You can find millions of videos without being a member. By becoming a registered user, you can create your own channel with various videos, like or dislike, or comment on other videos. You can manage your publicity settings to public, private (only friends can watch your videos) or unlisted (only those with the link to the video can watch it).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n MyFitnessPal<\/strong> is a free calorie counter and diet plan app. It acts as a calorie counter and exercise monitor. The app will ask for your current and target weight and will set specific daily calorie, fat, carbohydrate, protein, salt and sugar daily targets in order to reach your goal weight. Once you have inputted your daily food intake the app will predict how much you will weigh in five weeks if you stick to the target. If you input less than the recommended calorie intake (never less than 1000kcals) the app will not give you a five week prediction or allow you to post your diary to others that day.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n It does what it says on the tin! MapMyRun<\/strong> is an app that will track your route and progress whilst on a run. It will provide you with feedback allowing you to review your progress, and provide new running routes to challenge yourself. Users are able to connect with friends to share the results of their runs, and also share their progress to facebook and other social media platforms.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n You may have come across terms in the media such as pro-ana, pro-mia, thinspo, and fitspo. These stand for pro-anorexia, pro-bulimia, thinspiration, and fitspiration respectively. All of these words have been associated with social media use amongst young people with eating disorders\/difficulties.<\/p>\n It is well known that the numbers of websites that promote behaviours associated with anorexia and bulimia have increased in recent years, and are easily accessible by anyone who is able to use the internet. Many of these websites take the form of blogs, and advertise themselves as helping people towards recovery, or offering support to people on their journey, and that they do not promote harmful behaviour. However, more attention to the content of posts on these websites reveal tips of how to engage in eating disordered behaviour; such as losing weight quickly, how to \u201cfake\u201d a weigh in, and cruel images or slogans promoting self-loathing masked as encouragement and support during the \u201cana\u201d or \u201cmia\u201d lifestyle. Thinspo and fitspo are popular tags on a number of social media platforms doing just this.<\/p>\n Although teenagers will be exposed this content via popular social media sites, many are not aware of the unhealthy messages and unreachable goals they portray. Unfortunately, the majority of people accessing these platforms are unaware of the heavy editing that occurs before uploading photos through various filters and make up can be applied to areas of the body to provide shadowing and muscle tone. This means that the images that vulnerable young people are seeing on social media are not realistic representations of human bodies, but instead edited, unachievable targets for unhealthy body changes.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, young people who follow various pro eating disorder pages may associate that pictures of thinner people will get more likes. What\u2019s really important to remember here is that these images, diet plans and exercise routines on these sites are often posted by either individuals who are extremely ill themselves, or people who have used various editing techniques to appear as emaciated as people who are severely underweight, in order to get likes themselves.<\/p>\n Educating children and young people about the dangers of social media is incredibly important, and what really helps is if you as a parent are aware of its impact, and how to talk about it. We have provided some advice on how to talk to your teenager about social media below, which may be helpful for those less familiar.<\/div>\n Some parents and carers find it really difficult to talk to their teenagers about how they use social media. Are they looking at harmful material? Should I take away their phone? How do I make sure they are protected?<\/p>\n Here are some tips:<\/p>\n Because the internet has become so embedded in the lives of children and young people, it\u2019s important to open up the conversation early. It can be difficult to isolate a long period of time to talk to your child or teenager about online safety, so little and often is a good rule of thumb to go by.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Don\u2019t be afraid to show a genuine interest in what your child does online; ask them to show you their favourite app or game. This puts the child in the expert seat; you\u2019re learning from them while supporting and encouraging online safety.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Children and young people can often get confused about what a \u201cfriend\u201d is online. They are able to meet new people through social media and online games. It\u2019s important to explain to your child that it\u2019s easy for people to lie about themselves online, because they have never met them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Children and young people can often get confused about what a \u201cfriend\u201d is online. They are able to meet new people through social media and online games. It\u2019s important to explain to your child that it\u2019s easy for people to lie about themselves online, because they have never met them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Make sure that what your child is looking at online is suitable for them. Age limits for websites are in place for a reason.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Don\u2019t be afraid to use parental controls. These can be really helpful in preventing your child from seeing unsuitable or harmful content. However, make sure these are adjusted for your child\u2019s age as appropriate, and be open to discussions of removing the filters if it\u2019s deemed appropriate.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Make sure your child is aware of privacy settings and knows how to report harmful behaviour. The majority of social media platforms that require an account to be set up will have adjustable privacy settings; it\u2019s not just important to teach your child how to use them, but for you to be aware of what your child may be vulnerable to.<\/p>\n To find out more, head over to the NSPCC website. NSPCC have paired up with O2 to ensure children remain safe online while they socialise, play, and have fun.<\/p>\nTik Tok<\/h3>\n
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Twitter<\/h3>\n
Instagram<\/h3>\n
Snapchat<\/h3>\n
Pinterest<\/h3>\n
Tumblr<\/h3>\n
YouTube<\/h3>\n
Calorie and fitness tracking apps<\/h2>\n
MyFitnessPal<\/h3>\n
MapMyRun<\/h3>\n
Social media and eating disorders<\/h2>\n
How does your teenager use social media for ED purposes?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Talking to teenagers about social media<\/h2>\n
Have the conversation early and often<\/h3>\n
Explore online together<\/h3>\n
Know who your child is talking to online<\/h3>\n
Set rules and agree boundaries<\/h3>\n
Make sure that content is age-appropriate<\/h3>\n
Use parental controls<\/h3>\n
Check they know how to use privacy settings<\/h3>\n