For this week’s Tech Watch with Women to Watch Media and Susan Rocco, Mary Manzo continues her series on the impact of social media on the Generation Z girl. Last week, Mary spoke about the positive aspects of social media and this week, she’ll take a turn and highlight the negatives.
According to the US Census Bureau, Gen Z is anyone born between 1995 to mid-2000s
In Mary’s research, she found that girls spend an average of 3-4 hours on social media sites per day.
When it comes to cyberbullying, young girls are said to have it the worst. When harassed by others, this can severely damage not only self-esteem, but in some cases their reputation as well. If they’re the recipient of cyberbullying, you may find their self-esteem has dropped and they’re isolating themselves. Sometimes the problems are so drastic, they might not want to leave the house or go to school.
Girls often share personal information which leaves the door open to predators or online scams. A Pew Research Center survey said 85% of girls receive a friend request from strangers and 44% of those girls accept the requests. That’s scary.
How do we know when all of this is a problem? If girls are spending too much time on social media, they can become disconnected. Parents may observe a lack of enthusiasm for off line activity like sports, homework or hobbies. It may also become difficult to hold a conversation with them or find their grades may be slipping. Mary’s advice is to get educated and share this education with children and teenagers. There are some awesome web forums like Reach Out or Kind Campaign that provide insight and guidance for adults and Gen Z.
Interested to hear more? Tune in to Mary’s full segment below:
For Sunday’s full Women to Watch show, click here.
