Why 'kidfluencers' need to focus on their mental health
Read Khushnaaz’s article in livemintlounge on how to help our 'kidfluencers' stay safe online and support their mental well-being.
- Authored by Avantika Bhuyan
With so much of children’s time spent online, how does one gauge how much is too much - A topic very close to my heart and relevant not only to alpha kids but also to adults who often forget to draw the line between the real world and the virtual world!
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KHUSHNAAZ NORAS, a Mumbai-based consulting psychologist, feels there needs to be mentorship even on mental health for content creators. To the teens who come to her for guidance, she suggests a simple thing:
“Learn the difference between good content and viral content”.
“Good content could be something that gets 50 views and 10 likes but ranks high on quality and value. On the other hand, something that goes viral could just be someone staring at a camera, with a famous quote written on top, and it could reach one million people. Likes are not proportionate to quality," she elaborates. Even if one person has benefitted from what has been uploaded, that is good content.”
“It always helps if parents draw from personal experiences to guide children. For instance, they could share instances from their childhood, when social media was not omnipresent, and articles and artwork would be submitted to school magazines, comic books and newspapers. Once they were published, one didn't have to worry about how many people viewed them-self worth was not linked to the number of views and likes.”
Parents also need to ask themselves if their child being a content creator is an ego booster for them.
"Are adults making a big deal out of it by boasting in groups that their kid's video has got thousands of views? Remember, when one video reaches thousands, and the next one only hundreds, your child will feel a low sense of worth. Nine to 10-year-olds don't need this kind of feedback in life," says Noras.
"Every child has to understand that not everything has to be displayed on social media, and parents play a huge role in helping understand that."
A pertinent conversation which families must have is on exit strategies, even before the child starts putting out content. "We need to assure them that they will be fully supported in the decision to shut down the channel or page, whenever they want," says Noras.
Children feel secure in the knowledge there is an exit strategy in place, and in constant reiteration of the fact that the real world is independent of the virtual world.
No one will remember you by the likes and views that you get on your social media accounts, in real life.
“The harsh reality is that being on digital platforms often means leaving oneself open to cyber bullying and trolling. A poignant case in this context is that of Pranshu, a 16-year-old queer self-taught make-up artist from Ujjain, who lost their life by suicide in November 2023 due to a barrage of hateful homophobic comments.”
“Children can learn about keeping their mental safety intact as they go along even if it means disabling the comments section. In a lot of cases, since the pages and accounts are managed by parents, children never get access to public feedback. Another option is keeping channels and pages private, with their accounts dependent on their parents, who will get constant updates about security breaches, comments and more.”
Children can learn about keeping their mental safety intact as they go along even if it means disabling the comments section. In a lot of cases, since the pages and accounts are managed by parents, children never get access to public feedback. Another option is keeping channels and pages private, with their accounts dependent on their parents, who will get constant updates about security breaches, comments and more.
"Tell the kids that if the video becomes anything apart from what you are showing - say, you are putting out something related to art - and people, both public and peers, shame you for the equipment that you use, the way you look or the backgrounds that you use, shut comments completely, and shut your mind," suggests Noras. "Don't be shy of blocking, deleting if anyone is making life difficult."