In a modern world fueled by technology, today’s teenagers have almost unlimited access to the internet and social media platforms. These children are growing up in a world where 24/7 access to the internet shapes their generation by influencers found online. Previous generations obsessed over movie stars and other celebrities, and looked up to them as role models, often copying the images they saw on the tv or movie screen. Because of the rise of social media, today’s teenagers find their role models online. These influencers have more impact, both positive and negative, than traditional celebrities because they are more relatable to teens today. The impact of social media on youth is profound.
What is an Influencer? and Who are the Social Media Influencers?
Stir in the definition above with a dose of social media and voila! You have a social media influencer. A social media influencer is someone who has a large audience of followers online based on their skills, interests, or personality. These influencers share snippets of their daily lives by regularly posting videos and photo images. They establish a certain niche of social life that can be food, art, travel, beauty, fashion, sports, lifestyle, entertainment, gaming, comics, or public speaking and share videos and photographs related to their niche to a massive online audience. Social media influencers often share sponsored content based on a certain product or service that helps businesses boost sales while creating income for themselves.
Some of the most popular influencer platforms include TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube where influencers are both adults and children. If your child is spending any amount of time on any of these platforms, it is very likely that they follow several influencers.
How is Social Media Using Youth?
Social media influencers present themselves online as the center of the world around them.
People look up to these personalities, and children and young adults are no different. Social media platforms show content to teens based on an algorithm of views, likes, and followers, showing content to teenagers based specifically on their online habits to ensure they capture, and hold, their attention. Social media influencers’ impact on youth is vast, so it’s important to pay attention to who your children are following online. Not every influencer will affect your child in a positive way. The internet can be a dark, scary place for unmonitored children.
The Effects of Social Media on Youth
The younger generation spends more time on social media than any other age group. Children see content posted by influencers that excites and engages them, giving them a break from the stress of teenage angst. Social media influencers have the ability to affect their choices, both positively and negatively, and entice them to buy the products that they are showcasing.
There are many social media influencers who promote positivity with teens. Positive body image, ethical values and concern for others, financial responsibility, etc.
Many of the influencers who share sponsored content actually provide a genuine review of the products they are being paid to showcase, helping younger people avoid wasting money on bad purchases.
The picture perfect life that is often portrayed on social media can have a negative affect on teens. Many influencers showcase expensive brands of clothing, makeup, body care, shoes, and more – which causes many young people to feel inadequate as these are products they cannot afford. They are also faced with unrealistic body imaging. This type of false societal expectation has left many teens feeling unfit and unworthy, causing emotional and mental trauma, anxiety and depression. This unrealistic outlook on life presented to teens by social media influencers can deeply, and negatively, affect the way teens value their own existence.
How to Monitor Your Child’s Exposure to Influencers
Parents have the responsibility to monitor who their children follow and engage with on social media platforms. It is very easy for today’s children to be negatively influenced by the filtered lives they are seeing portrayed by influencers.
The Child Safety Tracker App, a free parental control app, allows parents to monitor the online activity of their children 24/7. Child Safety Tracker App remotely monitors phone location and is used to protect against falls, wandering, online scams & abuse around the clock. Child Safety Tracker App is built on a platform used by hundreds of thousands of users, across 97 countries, to keep their loved ones safe.