Conclusion

Overall, the mental health of children during their middle childhood years is impacted by cyberbullying, social comparison and finding peer support groups from social media. Firstly, cyberbullying’s impact comes from threatening messages, negative comments and the hijacking of online identity. All these adverse influences increase children’s risk of depression. Secondly, online social comparison encourages children to pursue the perfect body shape when they compare their body to others posted online, leading to low self-esteem, depression and envy of others when they deem their body shape as imperfect in comparison. Moreover, the simple act of posting their body image online can lead to the development of anxiety. Thirdly, children may experience positive impacts online through peer support groups who they can share their own condition/experience with. These can aid in healing their mental health problem. Thus, in response to the topic question, both positive and negative effects impact on children's mental health by social media.

  Regarding my future research I would like to identify (in relation to this topic/research question) what the impacts are for an educator when they elect to share their own personal life via social media with the student––would this impact the relationship between educator and student?

References

Ahmad, M. (2017, December 5). The Impact of Social Media on Children & 
Adolescents [Scholarly project]. Retrieved from

     http://scalar.usc.edu/works/literacy-narrative-17/the-impact-of-social-media
-on-children--adolescents

Campbell Sarah Fay. (2018). Deal wants $23 million for children’s mental 
health programs.[Digital image].  Retrieved from http://times-  
herald.com/news/2018/02/governor-wants-23-million-for-childrens-mental
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Charoensukmongkol, P. (2017). The Impact of Social Media on Social 
Comparison and Envy in Teenagers: The Moderating Role of the Parent 
Comparing Children and In-group Competition among Friends. 
Journal of Child and Family Studies, 27(1), 69-79.doi:10.1007/s10826-017
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Eckerd, Marcia & D, Ph. (2019). Cyberbullying: Parents Beware.
[Digital image]. Retrieved from  

    https://www.smartkidswithld.org/getting-help/making-friends/
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Fardouly, J., Magson, N. R., Johnco, C. J., Oar, E. L., & Rapee, R. M. (2018). 
Parental Control of the Time Preadolescents Spend on Social Media: 
Links with Preadolescents’ Social Media Appearance Comparisons 
and Mental Health. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 47(7), 
1456-1468. doi:10.1007/s10964-018-0870-1

Firth Emily. (June, 2017). Social media and children's mental health:a review 
of the evidence. Retrieved from    

     https://epi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Social-Media_Mental-Health
_EPI-Report.pdf

Freud, A. (2017, September 18). Talking Mental Health [Video]. 
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Hamm, M. P., Newton, A. S., Chisholm, A., Shulhan, J., Milne, A., Sundar, P.,
Hartling, L. (2015). Prevalence and Effect of Cyberbullying on Children and 
Young People. JAMAPediatrics, 169(8), 770. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2015.0944

Kear, K. L. (2011). Online and social networking communities: A best practice 
guide for educators. New York: Routledge.

Lehman, J. (n.d.). Teens and Privacy: Should I "Spy" on My Child? What You 
Need to Know. Retrieved from 
https://www.empoweringparents.com/article/teens-parents-privacy/.

Logan Albright. (2017). Colorado May Ban Smartphone Sales for Kids. 
[Digital image]. Retrieved from 
https://freethepeople.org/colorado-may-ban-smartphone-sales-kids/

Magid, L., D, E., & Gallagher, K. (2015, August 17). The Educator's Guide to 
Social Media. Retrieved from https://www.connectsafely.org/eduguide/

Maras, D., Flament, M. F., Murray, M., Buchholz, A., Henderson, K. A., Obeid, 
N., & Goldfield, G. S. (2015). Screen time is associated with depression 
and anxiety in Canadian youth. Preventive Medicine, 73, 133-138.  
doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2015.01.02

Naslund, J. A., Grande, S. W., Aschbrenner, K. A., & Elwyn, G. (2014). 
Naturally Occurring Peer Support through Social Media: The Experiences 
of Individuals with Severe Mental Illness Using YouTube. 
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Naslund, J. A., Aschbrenner, K. A., Marsch, L. A., & Bartels, S. J. (2016). The 
future of mental health care: Peer-to-peer support and social media. 
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N.d. (2019). Step Up Peer Support. [Digital image]. Retrieved from  

      https://www.stepupformentalhealth.org/events/peer-support/

Richards, D., Caldwell, P. H., & Go, H. (2015). Impact of social media on the 
health of children and young people. Journal of Paediatrics and Child 
Health, 51(12), 1152-1157. doi:10.1111/jpc.13023

Social Media in an Anxious Age: A Companion to the 2018 Children's Mental 
Health Report on Anxiety. (n.d.). Retrieved from   

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Tatangelo, G. L., & Ricciardelli, L. A. (2015). Children’s body image and social 
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    https://www.talkspace.com/blog/mental-health-effects-of-social-media-use/

Practical Connections

It’s true that various online factors highly influence youngster’s mental health, including their surrounding support network, online bullying and their societal appraisal. As a professional educator, I feel this has also impacted me profoundly regarding my future career. I believe I should pass more information to students to ensure they are better informed of social media effects.

   To prevent children from developing mental health problems, educators should play a role in children's middle school years. This involves guiding children regarding correct social media, on social media safety, privacy, security and digital literacy should be incorporated into the curriculum. Much of what young people (and adults) need to know about protecting themselves online can be summarized in four words: “Think before you post” (Magid, D, & Gallagher, 2015, para.23). Most children don’t consider the use of appropriate literacy before posting which results in their receipt of negative comments from other netizens. This has an adverse impact on children. Educators should increase children’s awareness of privacy protection on social media to prevent hackers from gaining their information online. Inclusion in the curriculum ensures early awareness of social media and its effect. Educators should be good listeners and discuss their student’s social media experiences. Also in providing extra support to students facing difficulties like cyberbullying and providing professional feedback to students about social comparison online.

   Lastly, online communication allows students and parents to ask questions and solve problems, while providing many opportunities for parents/students and educators to learn through communication and interaction ( Kear, 2011, p24-25). Therefore, as an educator in my future career, I will provide students with sufficient support, enhance their knowledge and awareness of social media and talk to parents and students to help them understand how to use social media more efficiently to help resolve their issues.

Online Peer Support Group

Social media can have an encouraging, positive influence on young people’s mental health during their middle childhood. As acknowledged before, children can gain peer support through recognized groups on social media which in turn can support their mental health. This is an extremely effective way of improving mental health in young people. Studies have shown peer support in severe mental illness (SMI) includes a system of mutual giving and receiving where individuals who have faced and endured the adversity of mental illness can offer hope, companionship, and encouragement to others facing similar conditions (Naslund, Grande, Aschbrenner & Elwyn, 2014, P1-2). Online peer support can invoke feelings of group belonging by encouraging children to interact with peers online. By sharing their personal stories and strategies for coping with day to day challenges of living with a mental illness, a social collectiveness is created (Naslund, Aschbrenner, Marsch & Bartels, 2016, P115).  For those more private individuals, this is a great way to gain support as it allows children to express their feeling to others, whilst combating social isolation. People in these groups come together as a family to share support and to encourage each other, thus preventing children from hiding their worries and concerns.

N.d. (2019). Step Up Peer Support. [Digital image].

  Moreover, even for those children who are willing to access professional medical care with their parents, online peer support can be an excellent resource. This encourages children to make their own decisions and to have improved communication with their health care provider, through peer suggestions and advice. In fact, learning from peers through online networks may help individuals with serious mental illness realise that they can make their own health care decisions, empowering them to be better prepared for medical visits and by being more proactive and assertive in their communication with health care providers (Naslund, Aschbrenner, Marsch & Bartels, 2016, P117). Finally, on considering the research question, social media unmistakably has a positive influence on children's mental health and wellbeing, particularly during middle childhood.

Online Social Comparison

The second issue is the menacing undercurrent that exists of social comparison with young people comparing themselves physically to people they have seen on social media. Throughout childhood, the opportunity for social comparison advances as children learn about their own abilities, differences, strengths and weaknesses. In later childhood, as children reach seven years of age, social comparisons become more evaluative and frequently used. At this time, children also demonstrate a decline in positive self-concepts and an increase in body dissatisfaction (Tatangelo & Ricciardelli, 2015, para. 2). By this point, girls' perceptions of body weight and appearance are often disproportionate to reality. Similarly, boys can develop unjustified obsessions around masculinity and muscle comparisons. Research on young children suggests that more time spent on social media (e.g., Facebook and Instagram) can be linked with inferior perception of body image and more depressive symptoms (Fardouly, Magson, Johnco, Oar, Rapee, 2018, para. 1). The danger of this is that people share their ‘perfect’ body images and so when children see these images they will aspire to be the same, causing them to diet, exercise to the extreme, develop unhealthy food relationships and in worst case scenarios will embark upon artificial enhancers. Body dissatisfaction is a vital predictor for eating disorders, which along with depression, can have a debilitating effect on every aspect of adolescents’ lives (Fardouly, Magson, Johnco, Oar, Rapee, 2018, para. 1). Some individuals will feel depressed about their body, wondering why they are not the same as these images, this will cause them to ask if the way they look is affecting their popularity. This social comparison can contribute to the development of depressive symptoms and specific insecurities about their own bodies.

Wildt, Melissa. (2015). The Mental Health Effects of Social Media Use. [Digital image].

  In contrast, some young people will want to post and share images of themselves on social media to get everyone's attention; this too can be damaging in the process of posting, when waiting for peers to comment, it can increase a young person’s anxiety. The influence of social media on social comparison with peers is likely to have an indefinite negative influence on children's middle childhood.

Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying occurs when an individual deliberately uses digital media to communicate false, embarrassing or hostile information about another person. It is the most common online risk for all young people, and it also poses a peer to peer risk (Richards, Caldwell & Go, 2015, para. 6). Cyberbullying comes hand in hand with social media, unfortunately. When you choose to post something online, there is the opportunity for others to comment, whether this be positive or negative, it has the potential therefore, to affect an individual.

                                 Eckerd, Marcia & D, Ph. (2019). Cyberbullying: Parents Beware. [Digital image]

A study into young people’s use of digital and social media, ‘The Net Children Go Mobile’ study in 2014 found that while 12 % (a minority) of 9 to 16 year olds had experienced cyberbullying, it had impacted negatively on their mental health. This triggering reduced confidence and self-esteem, and therefore probable higher risk of depression (Firth, 2017, P19). Currently, a significant number of children are obsessed with social media, infatuated with reading each other's posts to know what is happening with their peers and young people often like to post online to get their friends’ attention. Other risks posed by social media include sending or posting abusive or threatening messages, creating and sharing embarrassing photos or videos and hijacking online identities or creating a fake profile to damage another’s reputation etc (Firth, 2017, P19). This kind of damaging behaviour can be extremely detrimental to a young person’s mental wellbeing. Middle childhood is, a hypersensitive time for children, they are maturing, becoming susceptible to hormones and they develop a desire to have their own privacy whilst the lines of separation with parents begin to form and become clearer (Leham, n.d, para.4).  This conversely is where the root of the problem lies. Wanting to be private and not wanting to share every detail of their personal life with parents and family members, means ultimately if cyberbullying does occur, it often isn’t discussed, and so the child keeps the information to themselves and families are often unaware of the problem. If a child was to receive threatening messages or embarrassing photos or videos, they could feel helpless, depressed and very isolated because they are ill-equipped to handle the situation alone. Overall while there are several benefits to the use of social media, cyberbullying has emerged as a potential harm, raising questions regarding its influence on mental health (Hamm, M.P, Newton, A.S, & Hartling, 2015, para. 5).

Introduction

In Canada, depression and anxiety are among the leading causes of burden of disease in youth children. Epidemiological data shows that five to nine percent of children are clinically depressed, while 21% to 50% report depressed mood (Maras, Flament, Murray, Buchholz, Henderson, Obeid & Goldfield, 2015, para.5). This elevation in statistics is raising concerns about long-term mental health consequences for children during their middle childhood. Frequently, many children who are in fact addicted to social media find it difficult to adjust to their emotional change in middle childhood; and therefore, social media has become one of the principal factors that influence the mental health of children. Within the umbrella of social media, it is cyberbullying that has become the main source causing children to develop mental health problems.  Cyberbullying is undoubtedly the prevalent "weapon" in manipulating children's feelings including depression, anxiety, and isolation and in some cases suicide (Richards, Caldwell & Go, 2015, para.6). The subsequent point to acknowledge is, whilst social media allows individuals to remain updated about what is going on with their friends’ life events, at the same time it can have deeply troubling consequences with children and young people being exposed to too much information. This can lead them to compare themselves with their friends, eventually leading to feelings of inadequacy, jealousy and even envy (Charoensukmongkol, 2017, para.1). Social comparison can invoke low self-esteem when an individual is already dissatisfied with their personal life or their appearance. Additionally, social media hosts a multitude of positive elements for children and young people, a prime example being the comfort an individual can gain in finding peer support groups on social media. This is one of the most pertinent approaches in healing mental illness. It has to be acknowledged, however, that social media can and does significantly influence children's mental health.

Research Question

The research question on this topic will be: How does social media influence the mental health of children during middle childhood?

Logan Albright. (2017). Colorado May Ban Smartphone Sales for Kids. [Digital image].   

In our current technological climate, where digital media and digital devices are progressing so quickly, utilizing electronic products is absolutely essential. Children like to use their digital devices such as computers, tablets and smartphones to play games, or to post on social media. Social media is currently a significant trigger in altering children's mental health. Childrens’ experiences online are leading them to be increasingly depressed, anxious, and isolated (Firth, 2017, P6). On the other hand, however, teens already experiencing mental health problems are in fact-finding support and resources from online platforms, particularly from communities of other individuals who struggle with similar problems (Social Media in an Anxious Age, 2018, para. 4). Social media is perceived as a new, exciting world by children and young people, a place to make new friends and to learn new things. Nonetheless social media can undoubtedly present a real living nightmare for children, with its negative and sinister attributes such as cyberbullying, infringement of privacy as well as the ever-present opportunities to compare themselves with others, can cause children and young people to become quite traumatized and anxious in their middle childhood (Ahmad, 2017, para. 4). There is undeniably a significant connection between social media and children's mental health, and consequently, it is critical to understand the influence and attraction of social media in children's middle life.

3+ Relevant resources

Ahmad, M. (2017, December 5). The Impact of Social Media on Children & Adolescents  

     [Scholarly project]. Retrieved from

     http://scalar.usc.edu/works/literacy-narrative-17/the-impact-of-social-media-on-childr

     En--adolescents

Social Media in an Anxious Age: A Companion to the 2018 Children's Mental Health 
Report on Anxiety. (n.d.). Retrieved from   

      https://childmind.org/blog/social-media-anxiety-csm-2018-childrens-mental-health
         -report

Firth Emily. (June 2017).Social media and children's mental health:a review of the  

      evidence.Retrieved from

https://epi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Social-Media_Mental-Health_EPI  

-Report.pdf

Richards, D., Caldwell, P. H., & Go, H. (2015). Impact of social media on the health of  

   children and young people. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, 51(12), 1152-  
1157.doi:10.1111/jpc.13023