Peer-reviewed article
The Application of Social Media in Early Childhood Mental Development
Khairunnisa Ulfadhilah, Salsabila Dwi Nurkhafifah ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5This paper looks at how social media affects the mental development of young children. It argues that platforms such as TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels are not made for children and can harm them when parents do not supervise. It says parents should watch what children view, limit viewing to age-appropriate content, and explain what children see. The paper is based on a review of literature published between 2020 and 2023.
Key points
- Social media has a bad impact on young children if parents do not supervise it.
- Content on TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels is not intended for children.
- Unsupervised access can affect a child's character and lead to a habit of continuing to watch social media shows.
- Regulation of social media is not yet strict, and videos are uploaded without thought for the negative effects on children.
- Parents should supervise, limit viewing to age-appropriate content, and explain what children watch, since young children constantly ask questions.
Limitations
The abstract gives no country, no data, and no detail on how sources were chosen or assessed, so the strength of the claims cannot be judged. It describes a literature review only and does not test any intervention.
Abstract
Social media has a bad impact on young children if it is not supervised by parents. Viewings on social media such as TikTok, YouTube shorts and Instagram reels are not intended for children, so young children should not be allowed to access them. If young children access social media without being accompanied by parents or adults, it will have an impact on the development of the child's soul, character and habit of children continuing to watch shows on social media. The development of a child's soul is a good example for children because it is in the golden age stage where stimulation is good. In social media the regulations are not yet strict because many are not suitable for viewing by children, videos circulating on social media are simply uploaded without thinking about the negative impacts if accessed by children. The role of father and mother is very important for children who access the internet and social media, so they need to be supervised, limited to viewing appropriate to the child's age, and provided understanding and explanation when children watch social media by parents because at an early age, the critical stage for children is always asking about anything. Literature was obtained from Google Scholar, Mendeley, and references by the author. The publication documents used as references are based on the year 2020-2023.