Buzz! Are you there?

Picture: 4evermyself, Momio Netherlands
I have this friend. One night she tries to reach me on Messenger. I don’t answer because I disabled the notifications on my Messenger App. Then she texts me. “Buzz”, she writes. “Please look at your Messenger – I know you disabled your notifications, that’s why I’m writing you an SMS”. I check it right away because I think it’s urgent. But it isn’t. Just some questions that she thought would be nice to get answered straight away.
On Momio, we sometimes see kids making posts where they say they need a break from social media because they feel stressed. And we totally understand that. You need to do other things than just constantly be available and online. One kid wrote that it feels like someone is waiting just behind your back if you don’t answer right away, so she felt that she must be online all the time. It should be okay, and is in fact a right, that your friends can’t reach you immediately, and it should be fine to be with friends or family outside SoMe.
This is one of the reasons we close Momio at night. We can’t control the children’s notification settings during the day, but at least we can assure a calm night without any buzzes and bings from Momio.
We don’t think a “Digital Detox” is necessary, but it might be a good idea to help your child decide how much time is spent online and on what. You can’t really think in hours spent with the tablet or phone but rather what the time is spent on and when during the day. Showing support about not being available 24/7 would be a huge help to your kid. Maybe it’s time to talk about this topic at school amongst parents. And to be honest, it starts with you – the adult role model.
TIME FOR TIPS!
Tips for making sure things don’t go overboard in your family:
- Be interested in your child’s online life, ask questions and seek knowledge about the apps your child is using. And remember: they change all the time.
- Recognize that digital and social media for children are an entry ticket to communities and friendships.
- Consider introducing media-free zones and media-free time slots.
- Be a good role model for following time limits and being present when agreed.
- Avoid thinking in screen time but rather what is done during the time spent in front of a screen.
- Good luck!