Internet; Being an integral part of society, it is one of the fastest means of access to education and communication fields. In recent years, especially after the lessons were moved to the online environment during the Covid-19 process, the internet enabled children not to interrupt their school life, to do homework with their friends outside of school hours, to take part in effective group projects by brainstorming, and to maintain their academic success. Social media, on the other hand, made it easier for children to stay in touch with friends they could not meet face to face, meet new people, follow celebrities and groups they admire, and socialize in the virtual environment. It also reinforced their ability to adopt certain values such as respecting differences, to look at social events from different perspectives, and to be more tolerant and tolerant.
Children's conscious and purposeful use of social media causes them to encounter many advantages, while their uncontrolled use causes them to face some negativities. The most important of these is that they may encounter some obscene or violent images that do not comply with the characteristics of the age period. Exposure to such content negatively affects the sexual development of children and causes them to worry about their sexual identity development. In addition, their correspondence with people they do not know on social media causes their personal data to be seized, especially by child abusers. For this reason, it will be preventive for parents to use an up-to-date anti-virus program and content filtering programs in order to protect children from these harmful content and people on the internet.
Today, adolescents are among the most active users of social media. Adolescents' posts on social media increase their desire to be popular, their efforts to be appreciated, their competitive personalities and their egocentric structures. However, spending too much time in front of electronic devices and focusing on online communication platforms causes them to stay away from family members, artistic and physical activities. causes it. The fact that they do not spare time for these activities limits their creativity, productivity and psychomotor skills. Neglecting physical exercises, on the other hand, hinders their physical development and sitting in the same position all the time, unfortunately, causes them to face health problems in the future. In addition, the fact that they do not play games such as basketball, volleyball or football with their friends causes them not to meet the team spirit and to taste the feelings of unity and togetherness.
Social media also negatively affects children's eating and sleeping habits. Spending time on social media until late before going to bed reduces their sleep quality, makes them feel tired the next day, and causes them to be unable to concentrate on the lessons and decrease their academic success. It encourages them to consume more fast food or packaged foods.
In the study, it was observed that the self-esteem of the adolescents decreased and their anxiety and depression levels increased due to the increased use of social media. We can say that the fact that adolescents live connected to the Internet, that they encounter peer pressure, and that they try to fight cyberbullying trigger this situation. For this reason, it would be healthier to try to communicate with them effectively as parents, to be there when they need them, to include them in family activities as much as possible, to enrich their social activities, and to limit their time on the Internet.
Raising children's awareness about cybercrime is very important for this process. As parents, it is necessary to tell them not to correspond with people who do not trust them on social media, to tell them not to respond to negative content from others, and not to click on the links in the contents of e-mails or messages without adequate knowledge. It should be emphasized that they use strong passwords in social media applications, do not share their private passwords with the people they are in contact with, and especially do not give their addresses or parents' credit card information to the people they correspond with.
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