Teens and social media have become inseparable. Ever since the advent of various social media apps, teens have become more obsessed with their digital devices as they tend to spend long hours before their screens instead of anything else.
While social media helps teens in several different aspects, addiction to the same can also lead them to serious implications. Most teens do not know how to use social media safely and responsibly. When they use these platforms unwisely, they can tend to make some mistakes. These mistakes may result in serious consequences for them.
One simple mistake can impact their lives to a huge extent and can also damage their reputation. They may not get admission to a college or land a decent job in a company because of their damaged online repute. Perhaps this is why parents consider installing monitoring apps on their kids’ devices so they can keep a close eye on their online activities. By using monitoring apps like Mobistealth, they can prevent their teens from making mistakes on social media.
The majority of teens are struggling with mistakes that they have made on social media. While committing them, they don’t even realize the significant impact they can have on their lives. Let us discuss some common mistakes most teens make on social media.
Common Mistakes Made by Teens on Social Media
Excess of everything is bad. The same goes for social media addiction. Excessive use of social media can cause teens to explore various aspects of the platforms and drive them to make some mistakes along the way.
Here are some common mistakes teens make on social media that could be harmful to their online image in the long run.
Posting Revealing Content
Posting intimate and revealing photos and videos on social media accounts may feel fun at the moment but they can affect a teen’s online image in the long run. For instance, a potential college principal may be turned off after looking at such content.
Teens should avoid posting private pictures and videos on social media because such content can leave a wrong impression on others, especially their future college principals and employers. By posting photos and videos of partying, drinking, use of drugs, or even bullying, teens are likely to destroy their online image in the eyes of professionals.
Posting/Sharing Content Frequently
Another mistake most teens make on social media is when they frequently post or share content on their feeds. Some of them post a photo on Instagram, upload a snap on Snapchat, or send a tweet on Twitter one after the other.
Posting all day and night on social media may make professionals think that teens have got nothing to do. They may also perceive that teens spend far more time on social media than they any other activity, especially studying.
Sharing Extreme Content
Often teens share content on social media that is of extreme nature. Posting such content may affect their online repute because then many people would assume that the teen is quite extreme or have extremist views/opinions.
Some teens also post violent content that can be too extreme for others to see. Teens should never share such things that they do not really follow or believe in. If they are not talking about a certain extreme topic at a social-gathering then they probably shouldn’t be posting about it online.
Posting Insensitive and Unkind Messages/Comments
Cyberbullying has now become a common practice among teens. Since most social media platforms allow teens to create fake profiles or pretend to be someone else, teens have got the opportunity to post insensitive and mean comments and send embarrassing and threatening messages to someone without revealing their true identities.
However, some teens go on to post hurtful comments from their real accounts without realizing the consequences. They fail to realize that someone (perhaps the victim) could report their messages to a higher authority and they could be expelled from their schools.
Using Improper Profile Names
Teens who use improper profile names can land in hot waters when someone professional comes across their profile. They shouldn’t use email address, username, handle, or profile name that includes suggestive, violent, or profane content.
Teens can have a clean and decent online image if they avoid using improper words or phrases in their profile names. Nobody would want to admit a teen in their college or hire them in their company if their username includes inoffensive words.
Forget to Google Themselves
Have your teens ever Googled themselves? What did they come across? Did they come across their own pictures or posts? If yes, then that means your teens should be extremely careful of their online privacy settings.
Sometimes, despite enabling privacy settings on social media, all content and posts shared by your teens may become visible in the Google search. That is because everything stays permanent online. Even if a teen decides to delete an older photo from their account, there is a high chance it will still be stored somewhere on the Google servers and show up as soon as they Google themself.
Teens should make it a point to go through their privacy settings and also search themselves on Google sometimes to see if something that they posted online in the past comes up. If anything comes up, they better get it cleaned.
All of these mistakes made by teens on social media can badly affect their reputation. They might miss admission to a great college or lose a job in a leading organization. If parents do not want their teens to lose out on excellent opportunities because of their poor online image, then they need to educate teens on how to use social media responsibly and safely.
Every parent should have a discussion with their teens on the safe and responsible use of social media. They can also consider a monitoring app to keep track of all their online activities. With iPhone or Android spy software remote install, they can monitor their teen’s social media activity remotely from anywhere and at any time.
The right education and awareness on social media usage can help teens make smart decisions and present themselves in a good manner on online platforms.
