Teens with ‘Facebook Depression’; 4 Tips to save them!

Did you even come across a situation where your teen was calm, enjoying the good mood and all of a sudden he/she got low in fact wore the sadness on their face? Ask them out and they might tell that their friend unfriended them on Facebook. While this may sound a little ridiculous a thing to get depressed about, but for teens these days, being accepted is what matters. Some parents might brush it off, but things might keep piling up and your teen might get into what’s called, ‘Facebook Depression’.

But before we discuss about how parents can get their teens out of this fix, let’s talk about ‘Facebook Depression’ and what it really means. Many of you would be thinking, “Is that even a real thing?” Well yes it is! Facebook depression develops when pre-teens and teens spend too much time on the social networking sites. Teens who spend a lot of time online, begin to exhibit symptoms of depression, because for them, acceptance from their friends and appearing full of life on such sites is very important. And in this effort, they might start feeling unwanted and unacceptable, ultimately leading to depression.

It doesn’t only happen on Facebook, it could be a Twitter Depression or Instagram Depression, too, but since Facebook is a popular social networking platform, the term is generalized.

Tips to help your child out of Facebook Depression

Here is how parents can help their children escape the claw of depression:

1. Spend quality time with them

Parent don’t necessarily have to plan something really big; family time can be a casual affair. Just spend some time with them, show them that you are always there for them and that you will always love and support them. Give them all the time you can; spending every evening with them will have a great impact on how they see the world around them. Be a parent but don’t forget to be their friend!

2. Everything online in not always true

Teach your child that what they see online is only a grain of salt; there is a whole world outside waiting for them. Everything posted online is not true; people only show themselves online based on how they want people to look at them. Most only tend to post happy pictures and happy statuses and easily exclude all the negative and boring things in their life. What your teens see on social media may not always be the reality.

3. Opt for digital parenting

This is where parental control apps come into action. Parental apps are tech-savvy ways to monitor your child’s online behavior and activities. Digital parenting apps like FamilyTime are a great way to protect your children from the dangers of the Internet and ensure that they are on the right track. This app is available for free on iOS and Android.

FamilyTime can be a smart choice because this app lets you to keep an eye on your children in a non-interfering way. It has separate dashboards for parents and children. This app not only gives you the access to your child’s contacts and call logs, but also allows parents to check their web history and the apps installed in their phones.

With FamilyTime you can:

• Safeguard your children from misleading and violent content by tracking their web history.
• Find out if they are binge browsing; addicted to one website.
• Check their call logs to see who they contact.
• Keep a check on their company and their web behavior to know if they are being bullied online.
• Always keep tabs on your children and keep track of their whereabouts.
• Add suspicious contacts to Watchlist and get alerts every time they contact your child.

Teens, in an effort to fight depression often go online, but such websites can promote inappropriate content. On the other hand, FamilyTime allows parents to monitor the websites their children visit. Thus, parents can ensure that their teens are not getting exposed to any misleading or inappropriate content.

4. Get professional help

Even after all these measures, if your child is showing signs of depression and mood swings, consult a psychologist immediately! Parents need to handle such matters with great care, as the future of their children relies on their wellbeing. If depression once digs its roots deep inside your child, it might get very difficult to get your children to move on.

Monitor and restrict smartly

Bonding with your children and staying up-to-date is without doubt very important, but what is more important is that teens don’t lose their identity. A little socializing won’t hurt your teens and developing the skills to interact and express their feelings would be healthy for them, but parents need to be on the lookout for the tell-tale signs of teens getting into depression, anxiety and developing a negative self perception. Spending time with your family and a little help from these parental control apps can certainly help parents a great deal!

PREPARE KIDS FOR BACK-TO-SCHOOL TIME WITH PARENTAL MONITORING SOFTWARE!

Josh: ‘… But I don’t want to go to school!’

Mom: ‘It will be fun, new class, new teacher, your friends…’

Josh: ‘Well, what if I don’t like the new teacher? What if the kids are nastier?’

Mom: ‘You will be just fine.’

Josh: ‘How do you know?’

And there he goes rushing to his bedroom. Back-to-school time is a notable change in the lazy, fun, relaxing summer of kids. Though this change is good, but it is not necessarily easy. Kids have switched from laid-back summer fun to waking up early, homework, routine, and school rules. Of course, they don’t want to go back.

While it is normal for children to feel anxious and stressed during this time, the right attitude and some pre-hand preparation can help a lot. So what is the right way to ensure that your children follow their new routines, while you are at work? Well, one way to do this could be to use parental monitoring software. How can these software help? Read below to find out:

Digital Parenting: Stress Free Parenting!

Teens being digital natives are great with technology, while parents being digital immigrants, struggle with it at times. But technology has not left parenting untouched. Many tech-savvy parents use smart parenting apps like FamilyTime to monitor their teens online and offline activities. Want to become a digital parent? Download this app now on your iOS or Android phone, or from the buttons below:

You can gear up for back-to-school with FamilyTime because it lets you:

• Monitor your teen’s detailed location, along with the date and time stamps.
• Geo-fence any location, i.e. home, school, etc. to receive alerts every time they enter or exit that place.
• Receive pick-me-up alerts along with a complete address from your teens.
• Receive SOS alerts from teens in case of an emergency.
• Remotely lock their phone at study time or sleep hours, to reduce screen time.

Not only this, you can also: monitor their web-history, block apps, Watchlist contacts, view installed apps and much more all from a single Dashboard.

Ask your teens to stay positive!

Your attitude in all this will have a great impact on how your child views the start of school. Show your teens that you have faith in them that they will be able to get through the changes. Explain to them that it’s normal to feel nervous when going to a new class, and that they are going to be just fine. Tell them to stay positive and have fun because you will always be there for them. Use parental monitoring software’s to give them that confidence. Who says back-to-school has to be tough, when it can be fun!