You are sitting around the dinner table trying to ask your kids about their day and your teenage son won’t stop staring at his screen. You know he is watching Snapchats from his friends, or posting on Twitter. You finally force him to put it down and focus and he spends the entire meal surly and snippy, barely answering your questions when you ask them. He wolfs down his meal, gets up from the table and is right back on the social media.
This isn’t an uncommon scenario. We can actually see a lot about a teen’s hobbies based on their social media habits.
Getting Past The Screen To What Lies Beneath
There is no manual for raising a teenager (though there are some courses to help you), and it can be frustrating. With such easy access to the internet you might feel like you have no idea how to reach your teen. You may even be worried.
Social media, thankfully, is also a source of information. You can read through the most recent posts to search for signs of depression or serious problems. You can see who they interact with most, who they spend their time with, what they are doing day to day.
Where once upon a time you knew everything your child loved you might be less informed now as they become more secretive and independent. Social media often offers insight into their most prevalent hobbies. Someone who loves video games will post about it, someone who loves sports will post about that.
You can connect with your teen by taking an interest in those hobbies they seem most passionate about.
Likewise you might see signs that there are no hobbies, which is a concern in and of itself. That might be a sign that it is time to intervene and encourage your teenager to get involved with some kind of group. That might be something they desperately need, but don’t realize how it is impacting them.
Addressing Concerns
If you do see signs of depression or worrying behavior it is important to address them as soon as possible. Teenagers don’t always know how to express what they are feeling. It is your job as their parent to help guide them through those emotions and to get them help if necessary.
Come armed with examples. Don’t be accusing, but ask them if they can explain how they were feeling when they wrote specific posts. Ask them how you can help with those emotions.
Find out more at Parent Learning Center.
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