New book about social media and children published

MORROW, Ohio (WKRC) – A local researcher and author is sounding the alarm about the dangers of social media and its impact on children. It’s all detailed in his new book, “Social Media and the Quiet Experiment: The Death of Childhood.”

Stephen Smith, managing partner of A Wired Family, gives parents tips on how to manage raising children in the age of technology and what mental health warning signs to look out for.

“What we’re seeing is a real experiment, a real experiment on a generation of children, and we have no idea how this experiment is going to end,” Smith said.

After working in the media for 40 years, Smith has researched the effects of technology and social media.

She says many children spend anywhere from five to nine hours a day on their devices, which prevents them from having meaningful and developmentally important interactions with family and friends. Other concerns include sleep deprivation and mental health issues, he says.

But Smith says the real issue is content that kids can access.

“Instagram reels are specifically for young ladies who look at these beautiful women, their reels are very carefully chosen. And it seems like they’re completely unattainable for them, right?”

Children are exposed to more sexually explicit content through social media, movies and TV much earlier in their lives than older generations are exposed to as children, Smith says.

This can lead to mental and physical problems both now and later in life, Smith says.

“It’s sad the sheer number of kids, I’m not talking about 18-year-olds, I’m talking about 11-year-olds, some even seven-year-olds, they’re using devices, they’re watching pornography and that creates a whole range of problems in the short term for that child, but certainly in the long term for young men especially but also young women as well.” “I will say.”

If your child has a device, Smith has some advice for parents. He recommends that you continue to spend meaningful time with your children away from technology and chat with them.

She also says signing a contract is a good way to hold you and your child accountable for how much time you spend online, when you do it, and what you look at when you decide to use your device.

He highly recommends monitoring the iOS store on your child’s device, whether it’s the App Store or Google Play, by creating a password or installing parental controls that your child cannot access.

His biggest advice? Never let your child bring their device to bed.

Smith says children are most exposed to inappropriate content at night.

“There’s an incredible desire in kids today to do this. There’s a lot of pressure on them. Take that pressure away.”

In his new book, Smith explains these tips and more, and offers a timeline of how media has become more open over the past 70 years.