Happiness is dependent on the number of social media ‘likes’

  In a major study conducted by the Children’s Commissioner, children as young ten are reliant on social media for their sense of self-worth. The study looked at youngsters aged from eight to twelve and found many measured their status by how much public approval they get online, much of it by the amount of ‘likes’ received. Anne Longfield, Children’s Commissioner for England, said she was worried many pupils at that stage became anxious about their identity and craved likes and comments for validation.        

32 children were interviewed in eight focus groups, and found some saying:

• _{"If I got 150 likes, I'd be like, 'that's pretty cool, it means they like you'" - Aaron, 11}
• _{"I just edit my photos to make sure I look nice" - Annie, 11}
• _{"My mum takes pictures of me on Snapchat... I don't like it when your friends and family take a picture of you when you don't want them to" - Hassan, eight}
• _{"I saw a pretty girl and everything she has I want, my aim is to be like her" - Bridie, 11}
• _{“When you get a buzz, and then you go to get it but you don’t. And then you get another buzz and another buzz, and another buzz. And then you’ve just got to go get it, and then you just go off course with your homework.” Billy, 9}

Those aged between eight and ten began to feel happy when their posts received likes. However those aged between ten and twelve worried with how many likes their posts received which suggests the need for social validation gets more intense the older they become. The report also found that children felt their friendships could be hindered if they did not respond to social media posts quick enough.  

Snapchat, WhatsApp, Instagram and Musical.ly were the most popular social networks for the children but had two sides to their use. What’s even more worrying is that Snapchat, WhatsApp and Instagram supposedly required users to be at least thirteen, yet children as young as eight were using them.

 Ms Longfield warned that a generation of children risked growing up ‘worried about their appearance and image as a result of the unrealistic lifestyles they follow on platforms like Instagram and Snapchat, and increasingly anxious about switching off due to the constant demands of social media’.   She said: “What starts as fun usage of apps – children are using it with family and friends and to play games when they are in primary school – turns into an avalanche of pressure when children really are faced with a cliff edge of social media interaction when they start secondary school.” “While social media clearly provides some great benefits to children, it is also exposing them to significant risks emotionally.”  

Parents and schools need to work together

The Children’s Commissioner is calling on parents and teachers to do more to prepare children for the emotional impact of social media as they get older. She wants to see the introduction of compulsory digital literacy and online resilience lessons for pupils in year 6 and 7.

“I am worried that many children are starting secondary school ill-equipped to cope with the sudden demands of social media as their world expands.” She said children compared themselves to others online in a way that was ‘hugely damaging in terms of their self-identity, in terms of their confidence, but also in terms of their ability to develop themselves’. “Then there is this push to connect – if you go offline will you miss something, will you miss out, will you show that you don’t care about those people you are following, all of those come together in a huge way at once.” “For children it is very, very difficult to cope with emotionally.” Javed Khan, of children’s charity Barnardo’s, said: ‘It’s vital that new compulsory age-appropriate relationship and sex education lessons in England should help equip children to deal with the growing demands of social media. ‘It’s also hugely important for parents to know which apps their children are using.' The government said it was working with schools on online safety education.

Anne Longfield wants to see children living healthy digital lives. That means parents engaging more with what their children are doing online. "Just because a child has learnt the safety messages at primary school does not mean they are prepared for all the challenges that social media will present." "It means a bigger role for schools in making sure children are prepared for the emotional demands of social media. And it means social media companies need to take more responsibility." "Failing to do so risks leaving a generation of children growing up chasing likes to make them feel happy, worried about their appearance and image as a result of the unrealistic lifestyles they follow on platforms like Instagram and Snapchat, and increasingly anxious about switching off due to the constant demands of social media."