Making friends on social media has become the new normal for kids in the modern world compared to the past. That shows how far the world has come in terms of advancement and technology. It is totally normal for parents to have concerns about social media (online) friendships.
By extension, it is also understandable that parents seek help from child phone monitoring iPhone and Android apps to protect kids from digital threats. Let’s take a closer look at how the art of making new friends has changed over the course of time.
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Making Friends in the Past Vs. Now
Social media and the internet have revolutionized modern communication. Gone are the days when people had pen pals and wrote handwritten to stay in touch. The advent of the internet and the widespread of social media is like a superpower for today’s advanced generation. It has granted them the ability to befriend strangers (across the world) in a matter of minutes. Let’s try and understand why friendships are so significant and the role they play in kids’ lives.
Role of Friendship in Kids’ Lives
Making friends is one of the most significant parts of kids lives. It helps them in more ways than one. They learn to find their place in society, lean on each other for support, explore their personalities, and grow as individuals.
Friendships (online or otherwise) that are enduring help kids grow up to be emotionally grounded and stable adults. It is one of those relationships that presents countless learning opportunities and can help kids overcome social anxiety. That said, let’s look at how beneficial social media/digital friendships are for kids.
Are Social Media/Digital Friendships Beneficial for Kids?
It isn’t a secret that shared hobbies and interests can lead to an everlasting and strong friendship. People who discover they have a lot in common tend to become good friends. Compatibility is a rare trait, and it becomes even more difficult to uncover when you have limited interactions with people in person.
That is why modern-day kids find it easier to make friends online. Many kids feel anxious when they have to talk to people face-to-face. They fear being ridiculed or humiliated in front of others. That anxiety is why they gravitate toward virtual connections.
As surprising as it is, we (as parents) can’t help but shudder at the thought of the numerous dangers that come with social media/digital relationships and endanger kids. That is why parents tend to look for child phone monitoring iPhone and Android apps so they can better protect their kids’ digital lives. Let’s get a closer look at what sort of threats parents must beware of if their kids have social media friends.
Common Threats Posed by Online Friendships
Some of the most common threats posed by online friendships include online grooming, sexual predators, catfishing, identity theft scams, sexting, cyberbullying, etc. While it may feel a bit far-fetched or hard to swallow, these threats are real. They do occur online and primarily by people who pretend to be genuinely interested in becoming friends.
Such people prey on kids’ innocence and take advantage of their insecurities or naivety. Therefore, protecting kids is (and should be) parents’ topmost priority. To that end, parents can use parental control apps, like FamilyTime, to safeguard kids’ digital lives and protect them from getting harmed by people who can hurt them under the pretense of friendship.
How Can FamilyTimeProtect Kids Against the Dangers of Virtual Friendships
Here is how FamilyTime parental control app can protect kids from the dangers of digital friendships.
Internet Filter
While making online friends is easy, there are numerous platforms where kids can talk to strangers and not all of them are safe. It is better for parents to limit their kids’ access to unsafe websites and social media platforms and prevent them from getting exposed to harmful content simultaneously.
App Blocker
Nowadays, many social media apps offer disappearing messages feature as well as video & audio chat rooms. Most of these apps do not have age restrictions or they do not verify users’ age.
Call & Text Monitoring
Often times, kids exchange their phone numbers and social media profiles with online friends so they can stay in touch offline as well. That exposes them to a myriad of problems.
Parents can keep their kids safe without having to snoop through their phones and observe teens’ privacy. FamilyTime’s call & text monitoring feature scans their messages and flags anything that requires parental intervention, such as cyberbullying, racial comments, sexting, phishing attacks, etc.
Conclusion
FamilyTime is one of the best child phone monitoring iPhone and Android apps because it offers a wide array of features to safeguard kids against a multitude of threats (both online and real-world). If you wish to explore the entirety of its features, visit its website. If you want to download the app directly, visit Play Store or App Store.
