teens

Influencers Hurt Child Self-Esteem by Overusing Filters

March 23, 2022 by Haley Begun

Kids and teens love their online influencers. Seventy percent of teens say they trust influencers more than celebrities, and 49% depend on influencer recommendations.[1] Influencers count on their followers to help build their numbers and market their products with testimonials and shares. If your child loves to follow online celebrities or influencers, teach them what they need to know for safety and earn online accountability with our GKIS Social Media Readiness Training. Our course covers the red flags of digital injury and tools for psychological wellness with 10 self-paced lessons and mastery quizzes. Help your kids avoid screen risks like viewing pornography, interacting with online predators and cyberbullies, distraction, social media drama, and compare and despair with our GKIS Social Media Readiness Course for tweens and teens.

A Good and Bad Influence(er)

Online influencers promote their personalities, content, areas of interest, and expertise on online platforms to gain recognition and build their brand. Gaining followers requires confidence and showmanship. To best compete, some influencers use editing tricks to appear more attractive, healthier, more competent, and extra qualified. Because editing tricks are hard to spot, kids often emulate influencers with the impression that they really are that perfect.

Positive Impacts of Social Media Influencers

The most popular categories that social media influencers focus on are lifestyle, health, fitness, travel, art, work, fashion, luxury, photography, beauty, pets and animals, and parenting.[2]

The positive impacts influencers offer include:

information for education and awareness,
an engaging and supportive community of like-minded people, and
creativity and entertainment.

Negative Impacts of Social Media Influencers

Some influencers are less interested in quality content and more focused on entertainment that will boost their numbers. To that end, they will use more filters and online trickery and promote harmful content like unrealistic body types, lifestyles, diets, fashion, gossip, rumors, and drama. Harmful content can cause problems with kids and teens, including decreased appearance satisfaction, low self-evaluations, higher negative mood, and insecurity.[3] Over time, these problems can escalate to mental health issues like anxiety, depression, body dysmorphia, and eating disorders.

Body Positive Movement

According to a social media report from a Norwegian influencer marketing platform, 47% of surveyed influencers revealed that they felt their job harmed their mental health, and 32% believed the platform hurt body image.[4] One way to express and promote unconditional self-love is by supporting the body positivity movement. This worldwide movement focuses on acceptance and equality for all body types and sizes.

One of the movement’s goals is to challenge how our society, particularly all forms of media, presents and views the human body.[5] With body positivity modeled by influencers (without the use of filters and digital manipulation), fans feel more confident and comfortable in their bodies.

Instagram vs. Reality

Another popular movement in the media that spreads awareness about the harmful nature of social media is called Instagram vs. Reality. This movement offers a side-by-side comparison of two of the same photos; one photo edited and the other not.

The purpose of this trend is to bring attention to the differences between natural and filtered images. This trend inspires people to embrace themselves naturally without enhancements. Instagram vs. Reality reminds us that online content is not always accurate. Our Screen Safety Essentials Course for parents and families offers helpful strategies for social media behavior while reinforcing mindful habits to prevent feelings of self-consciousness and anxiety.

Seeking Self-Acceptance and Fleeing from Filters

Before friending or following someone in real life or online, consider if they reinforce positive, authentic, and empowering morals. Social media influencers that we like appear to serve from the depths of their experienced and passionate hearts.

Positive and Qualified Influencers to Follow

Huda Kattan- Beauty Blogger and Makeup Artist
Zach King- Digital influencer, Writer, Comedian
Michelle Lewin- Fitness Influencer
Jamie Oliver- Chef
Joanna Gaines- Lifestyle Blogger and Writer
Jack Morris- Travel Influencer
Savannah LaBrant- Parenting Influencer
Beth Evans- Mental Health Influencer
PewdiePie- Gaming Influencer
Amanda Gorman- Activist, Poet, Influencer

What Parents Can Do to Protect Their Kids

Parental oversight of child exposure to online content is critical for safety and developing a positive self-image. One way to do this is by monitoring your child’s online activity, such as the sites they visit, the content they watch, who they follow, and how much time they spend online.

GKIS has a variety of valuable courses designed to help families navigate the various pitfalls of internet exposure and prevent digital injury.

The GKIS Social Media Readiness Training is a valuable tool that teaches teens about the inherent risks of social media and ways to make healthy decisions when encountering them.
The Screen Safety Toolkit is a family-tested, outcome-based resource guide with our best recommendations, how-to information, and links to our favorite easy-to-onboard parental control systems.
The GKIS Connected Family Course will provide parents of school-age families with tips for creating a safe screen home environment through fun parenting techniques that are designed to guide sensible screen management.
Finally, our most comprehensive program is our Screen Safety Essentials Course. Our comprehensive Essentials Course provides parenting and family coaching information, support, and other valuable information and activities to get you dialed in for screen safety and healthier family relationships.

Thanks to CSUCI intern Haley Begun for researching and co-authoring this article!

I’m the mom psychologist who will help you GetKidsInternetSafe.

Onward to More Awesome Parenting,

Tracy S. Bennett, Ph.D.
Mom, Clinical Psychologist, CSUCI Adjunct Faculty
GetKidsInternetSafe.com

Works Cited

DMI, Simon @. “20 Surprising Influencer Marketing Statistics: Blog: Online Digital Marketing Courses.” Digital Marketing Institute, Digital Marketing Institute, 27 Oct. 2021, https://digitalmarketinginstitute.com/blog/20-influencer-marketing-statistics-that-will-surprise-you.

“Best Influencer Marketing Categories.” IZEA, 5 Dec. 2019, https://izea.com/resources/influencer-marketing-categories/.

Liebenson, Donald. “Social Media Influencers: A Positive or Negative Influence?” NewFolks, NewFolks, 20 Sept. 2021, https://www.newfolks.com/stages/influencers-teenagers/.

Leighton, Heather. “Influencers Admit That Instagram Is Bad for Body Image, Mental Health, Study Shows.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 10 Dec. 2021, https://www.forbes.com/sites/heatherleighton/2019/12/13/is-instagram-bad-for-your-mental-health-body-image/?sh=3b44410b1e55.

Kristen Fuller, MD. “Body Positivity vs. Body Neutrality.” Verywell Mind, Verywell Mind, 11 June 2021, https://www.verywellmind.com/body-positivity-vs-body-neutrality-5184565.

Photo Credits

Karsten Winegar- https://unsplash.com/photos/60GsdOMRFGc

Mateus Campos Felipe- https://unsplash.com/photos/ZKJQCWsKmPs

Billie- https://unsplash.com/photos/k2vn6he4lDQ

Maddi Bazzocco- https://unsplash.com/photos/Vbt1zTCsSNA

Cristian Dina- https://www.pexels.com/photo/white-smartphone-1851415/

Is YouTube Encouraging Mental Illness Among Children and Teens?

October 26, 2021 by Mackenzie Morrow

Is it possible that your child is being encouraged to fake a mental health illness because of YouTube celebrities? It is no secret that today’s children and teens practically live their lives through the internet. Social media platforms and entertainment sites like YouTube are where our kids go to seek out information, make friends, and build their budding identities. One aspect that makes these sites so attractive is that they provide a space for kids and teens to experiment with their identities by trying on different personas in accordance with what is trending online. This phenomenon gives the content creators of platforms like YouTube enormous influence over what our kids see as socially desirable traits and behaviors. The reality is that these content creators are some of our kids’ biggest role models and some of the biggest content creators on YouTube are featuring videos about their mental health disorders. To help ensure your family has the tools to safely navigate the online world, check out our Screen Safety Essentials Course.

So, what is trending online?

Mental health issues and disorders are far less stigmatizing among today’s children and teens than they were in previous generations. This is due to increased awareness, social progressiveness, and a cultural shift that embraces individualism. In other words, being different is now something to be celebrated rather than something to be avoided at all costs.

As a result, popularity today looks a lot different than it used to. Cheerleaders and football jocks are no longer the end-all-be-all of popularity and coolness. For our kids, to be seen as fundamentally different from everyone else or misunderstood by their peers is to be seen as unique and uniqueness is the ultimate attention attracter. Oddly enough, teens today must stand out to fit in. This trend can be seen online by the enormous popularity of YouTube channels that feature content related to mental health disorders.

YouTubers Are Sensationalizing Mental Illness for Views

It is inappropriate for an unqualified person to make judgment calls regarding the validity of someone’s mental health diagnosis. Exercising informed and critical thinking when evaluating claims made by people online is important. Especially, when it is your child who is being exposed to these claims.

Content creators on YouTube get paid to make videos that attract attention from viewers. One way these content creators ensure that their videos are viewed out of thousands of others is to make them as sensational as possible. Frequently, truth is secondary to entertainment which is incredibly dangerous in this context because the implications of serious mental health disorders are far too significant to be trivialized.[1] Currently, content creators who purport to have multiple personality disorders (also referred to as dissociative identity disorder or DID) are skyrocketing as YouTube channel celebrities.

What Is multiple personality disorder?

Multiple personality disorder is a type of dissociative disorder characterized by the presence of multiple personalities or identities that coexist within one person’s mind. The personalities are distinct, completely separate from, and unaware of one another. Each personality has its own identity, complete life history, personal traits, preferences, attitudes, etc., and exerts control over the individual at different times.

The cause of this disorder is usually related to severe trauma and can be seen as a coping mechanism that protects a person from facing painful memories. The original personality is called the host and is often the most dominant identity. Additional identities are called alters. People with DID switch between personalities, with the current personality taking control over the body (referred to as “fronting”) and thus shielding the person from distressful or alarming situations.[2]

Multiple personality disorder is an incredibly rare diagnosis affecting only .01 to 1% of the population.[3] Additionally, there is considerable debate among psychologists as to whether or not the disorder truly exists.[4] Unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation about the disorder being broadcast by YouTubers who claim to have it.

Who Are These DID Content Creators?

Some of the most popular YouTube channels whose creators purport to have multiple personality disorder include MultiplicityAndMe, The Entropy system, Fragmented Psyche, Trisha Paytas, and DissociaDID. Each of these channels is enormously popular with DissociaDID having over 1.9 million subscribers.

Thes e content creators capitalize on the mystery surrounding the disorder and typically play the role of educating their viewers. Each of these channels has videos with clickbait-worthy titles such as “Switching Caught on Camera” and “Meet the Alters.” These content creators have branded themselves as leaders of the DID community and have created a culture of exclusivity.

Us Vs. Them

For kids who may have difficulties making friends, belonging to this kind of exclusive community is very attractive. As I mentioned earlier, kids today have to stand out to fit in. Belonging to such an exclusive group allows them to feel unique while also being accepted by others. The comments sections under these videos are filled with DID-related memes, inside jokes, and special insight-fueled communication that fosters an “us versus them” mentality.

The Dangers of The Mental Illness Trend on YouTube

While having a mental disorder is nothing to be ashamed of, the act of faking a mental illness or claiming to have one when one doesn’t is dangerous. First and foremost, living with a dissociative disorder such as DID is not as glamorous as it is portrayed to be by these YouTube content creators. It is distressing, impairing, and often overwhelming with far-reaching implications across a variety of aspects of a person’s life. Here are some dangers:

Kids who claim to have the disorder as a means of making friends online can ultimately end up isolating themselves from others in real life even further.
People who fake a mental disorder can become convinced that they genuinely do have the disorder.[5]
People who claim to have a mental health disorder that they really do not have may end up taking away valuable resources that people with true diagnoses desperately need.

What Parents Can Do to Protect Their Kids

Parental oversight regarding their kids’ exposure to content online is the most important thing. One way to do this is by monitoring your kid’s online activity such as the sites they visit, the content they feature, and how much time they spend online. Thankfully, Dr. B has a variety of useful strategies designed to help families navigate the various pitfalls of internet exposure and prevent digital injury.

The GKIS Social Media Readiness Training is a valuable tool that teaches teens about the inherent risks of social media and ways to be prepared when encountering them.
The Screen Safety Toolkit is a family-tested, outcome-based resource guide with our best recommendations, how-to information, and links to our favorite easy-to-onboard parental control systems.
The GKIS Connected Family Course will provide parents and families with tips for creating a safe screen home environment through fun parenting techniques that are designed to guide sensible screen management.
The Screen Safety Essentials Course provides weekly parenting and family coaching videos, engaging family activities, and other valuable information such as selected readings from our GKIS blog articles and Dr. Bennett’s expert book, Screen Time in the Mean Time.

Thanks to CSUCI intern, Mackenzie Morrow for researching the risk of digital injury to kids who are exposed to sensationalized mental health content on YouTube and co-authoring this article.

I’m the mom psychologist who will help you GetKidsInternetSafe.

Onward to More Awesome Parenting,

Tracy S. Bennett, Ph.D.
Mom, Clinical Psychologist, CSUCI Adjunct Faculty
GetKidsInternetSafe.com

Works Cited

[1] Mayo Clinic. (2019). Factitious disorder. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/factitious-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20356028

[2] Waugaman, R. M., & Korn, M. (2012). Review of Understanding and treating dissociative identity disorder: A relational approach. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 60(3), 626–631. https://doi-org.ezproxy.csuci.edu/10.1177/0003065112447105

[3] Brand, B. L., Sar, V., Stavropoulos, P., Krüger, C., Korzekwa, M., Martínez-Taboas, A., & Middleton, W. (2016). Separating fact from fiction: An empirical examination of six myths about Dissociative Identity Disorder. Harvard review of psychiatry, 24(4), 257–270. https://doi.org/10.1097/HRP.0000000000000100

[4] Dorahy, M. J., Brand, B. L., Sar, V., Krüger, C., Stavropoulos, P., Martínez-Taboas, A., Lewis-Fernández, R., & Middleton, W. (2014). Dissociative identity disorder: An empirical overview. The Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry, 48(5), 402–417. https://doi.org/10.1177/0004867414527523

[5] Merckelbach, H., Jelicic, M., & Pieters, M. (2011). The residual effect of feigning: how intentional faking may evolve into a less conscious form of symptom reporting. Journal of clinical and experimental neuropsychology, 33(1), 131–139

Photos Credits

Photo by Elisa Ventur (https://unsplash.com/photos/bmJAXAz6ads)

Photo by Varvara Grabova (https://unsplash.com/photos/tRVKb5sGBBs)

Photo by May (https://unsplash.com/photos/juT5ymUDYkA)

Photo by Dollar Gill (https://unsplash.com/photos/ezpQ4EK1Z38)

Is Social Media a Breeding Ground for Social Anxiety Disorder?

October 19, 2021 by tara.meizel113@myci.csuci.edu

As many as 97% of teens actively use at least one form of social media.[1] If your tween or teen has social media, help them become informed, safer consumers with our Social Media Readiness Course. Our online course includes mastery quizzes after each lesson and can be done at your own pace. We think it’s the best way to help kids avoid the many sources of digital injury and help them integrate critical psychological wellness tools. Today’s article is all about social media and psychological wellness. Is social media use contributing to your child’s social anxiety disorder?

Social Anxiety Disorder

Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is a debilitating disorder that impacts children and adults and is characterized by an intense fear of being judged by others in social settings.[2] Since the stay-at-home orders from COVID19, Dr. Bennett says that many kids, teens, and adults have developed social anxiety due to the stress and loss of practice due to isolation. People who suffer from SAD avoid social situations that require peer conversations, giving speeches, and being among unfamiliar people.

What are the signs of SAD?

Although we all may go through bouts of shyness or anxiety when doing social things like making speeches, SAD is a heightened and debilitating version of these same fears. Studies have shown that children with SAD often struggle with peer friendships, academics, and even family life.[3]

Here are typical characteristics of SAD:

Excessive fear regarding social situations
Agitation
Low self-esteem
Avoidance of social engagements
Excessive worry
Poor eye contact

These are things you can be on the lookout for when observing your children. Are they struggling to keep up academically? Are they complaining that they don’t have friends? Do you notice that they lack the confidence to initiate conversations or speak up for themselves?

If you feel concerned, reach out for professional assistance from a therapist or licensed psychologist. The sooner a child gets assistance with SAD, the sooner they can start working on it and find resolutions to their fears. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is particularly effective with SAD.

CBT is a form of therapy that offers strategies to help subjects change maladaptive thinking patterns and gain insight into things that reward anxiety. Unique treatment plans can be altered for each patient. One of the things that make CBT unique is the emphasis on teaching the patient about the disorder and allowing them to create their coping skills and ultimately be their own therapist.[4]

Social Media’s Impact on SAD

Studies have shown that children with SAD tend to have lower interpersonal trust and are more prone to hurt feelings. For some kids who have a hard time building peer relationships in person, using social media can help them make friends and feel included. Talking to peers on social media allows children to think before they send a message which may lessen their fear of judgment. Also, online conversations take out the tough-to-interpret facial expressions that sometimes cause people with SAD to overthink and freeze up.

A great example of where this could come in handy is during a lunch break. Children with SAD may have a hard time interacting during lunch and stay quiet due to fear of being judged. This same child can go home and message their friends on social media about something that was discussed during lunch without having to worry about others watching them. By messaging their thoughts to their friends, they can compose their words and it lets them be involved and part of the conversations.

On the other hand, studies have shown that children with SAD worry more about being judged on what they post than others do.[5] Since a child with SAD is already more prone to hurt feelings, they may get more upset by comments and feelings of exclusion. They may also overthink about posted content wanting to make sure others enjoy it. A balance between offline practice and online practice is key to psychological wellness and social skills mastery.

Things You Can Do to Help Your Child Avoid SAD

Enjoy the support of weekly coaching.

The most important thing that parents can do is be aware of the potential risks and promote an environment of open communication with your children. Dr. B offers a comprehensive family program for fostering this kind of communication in her Screen Safety Essentials Course. With this course, your family will learn tons of information about how to create a safer screen home environment while also connecting and having fun as a family. Armed with the right tools, you and your family can learn how to better thrive in today’s digital era.

Set screen time limits.

Most phones have parental control options to limit the amount of time spent on social media apps. The Screen Safety Toolkit explains the amount of screen time recommended for your children and gives you the tools you need to set up the controls, track usage, and filter unwanted content for safe browsing.

Offer opportunities to practice social engagement.

Sometimes kids need extra support when they are feeling socially anxious. If your child opts out of social interactions, provide a series of opportunities to practice social engagement with your help. Start by encouraging your child to order on their own in restaurants. Continue the same tasks until the child feels comfortable doing them. Once they’re comfortable with the first task, move on to slightly more challenging tasks like small talk when purchasing groceries or waiting in line. Mastering increasingly challenging social tasks can help your child learn social skills and build self-confidence.

Consider CBT Therapy.

If your child’s symptoms are getting in the way of school, friendships, or overall happiness, CBT therapy treatment can help them learn coping skills and face their fears head-on.

Thanks to CSUCI intern Tara Meizel for researching social media and its effects on children with Social Anxiety disorder and co-authoring this article.

I’m the mom psychologist who will help you GetKidsInternetSafe.

Onward to More Awesome Parenting,

Tracy S. Bennett, Ph.D.
Mom, Clinical Psychologist, CSUCI Adjunct Faculty
GetKidsInternetSafe.com

Works Cited

[1] Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. (2019, December 21). Teens and social media use: What’s the impact? Mayo Clinic. Retrieved October 7, 2021, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/tween-and-teen-health/in-depth/teens-and-social-media-use/art-20474437.

[2] Seedat, S. (2013). Social anxiety disorder (social phobia). South African Journal of Psychiatry, 19(3), 192+. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A343258868/AONE?u=csuci&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=5e09250d

[3] Khalid-Khan, S., Santibanez, M.-P., McMicken, C., & Rynn, M. A. (2012, August 22). Social anxiety disorder in children and adolescents. Pediatric Drugs. Retrieved October 7, 2021, from https://link.springer.com/article/10.2165/00148581-200709040-00004#citeas.

[4] What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy? (2017, July). Apa.org. https://www.apa.org/ptsd-guideline/patients-and-families/cognitive-behavioral#:~:text=What%20Is%20Cognitive%20Behavioral%20Therapy%3F%20Cognitive%20behavioral%20therapy

[5] Shabahang, R., Arguete, M. S., & Shim, H. (2021). Social media posting anxiety: Interpsonal trust, fear or negative evaluation, and hurt feeling proneness as predictors. Journal of Media Psychology: Theories, Methods and Applications. https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-1105/a000300

Photo Credits

Photo by Luke Porter https://unsplash.com/photos/UGX2qdjdKkw

Photo by Javier Trueba (https://unsplash.com/photos/iQPr1XkF5F0)

Photo by Serhat Beyzkaya (https://unsplash.com/photos/AHwlM2FocV4

Is Big Tech Blocking Gamer Solutions for Overcoming Addiction?

October 13, 2021 by michael.watson507@myci.csuci.edu

Video game addiction is a growing concern among professionals, parents, and gamers themselves. As technology becomes more advanced and the games become more lifelike, the potential for children to become addicted and use video games to escape from the real world increases dramatically. In today’s GKIS article, we cover how gamers are offering a solution that is being blocked from public use. You won’t want to miss this one. If you’re concerned about the effects video games are having on your child, Dr. Bennett’s Social Media Readiness Online Course will give you the answers you are looking for!

What is Skyrim?

Skyrim is the fifth installment of the Elder Scrolls series of games. This game is considered an “Action RPG,” which is a fancy way of saying that participants spend a really long time creating and building a character who maneuvers through an almost never-ending adventure in an extremely large, detailed virtual world. The creator of Skyrim, Bethesda Game Studios, has recently been purchased by Microsoft.

Bethesda has reportedly sold over 30 million copies of Skyrim in 2021, making it one of the most successful games ever created.[1] Skyrim has a rating of “mature” and is not recommended for younger children due to the blood and gore, sexual themes, use of alcohol, and intense violence.[2] Skyrim is so captivating for some gamers that they are falling into the trap of gaming addiction.

The Negative Consequences of Gaming Addiction

Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) is a mental illness that affects and alters our natural endorphins (our feel-good hormones). Endorphins are released when we do something exciting like exercise, gaming, or using addictive drugs. Also, when we get hooked on endorphins we often skip behaviors we need for healthy functioning like nutrition and rejuvenating sleep. In Dr. B’s Connected Family Online Course, she explains the huge role that sleep plays in staying healthy and happy and offers solutions. Without rejuvenating sleep, it is difficult to maintain balance and can lead to other problems.

Other negative consequences to gaming include clinically impairing:

depression
anxiety
AD/HD
self-harm
obsessive-compulsive disorder
oppositionality
social withdrawal
obesity
suicidality
personality disorders[3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]

In her book, Screen Time in the Mean Time, Dr. Bennett adds:

Not only are there behavioral and psychological consequences to IGD, neuroimaging studies have found evidence of distinct neurobiological changes similar to those seen in subjects with substance addictions.[11, 12] More specifically, IGD subjects show gray and white matter atrophy (loss of tissue volume) and reduced cortical thickness in various areas of the brain as well as changes to the brain’s pleasure center – like excessive dopamine release and less dopamine receptor availability.[13, 14, 15] The patterns of brain activity while playing reflects how heavy-use players process rewards and losses differently than nonplayers, which may lead to riskier or more cautious decision-making overall.[16]

A Cool New Gamer-Created Solution to Addiction

As games get more and more addictive, gamers are starting to share their experiences and crowdsource for solutions.

Recently, gamer ThatLittleCommie created a solution to help addicted players quit Skyrim using a mod. Mods are game modifications that are created by players and offered on gaming sites for free download. Usually, mods extend the player’s experience. But NoSkyrim (the name of ThatLittleCommie’s mod) does the opposite. It makes the game unplayable so that addicted players can cut off their supply at the source. With the help of NoSkyrim, addicted players can force themselves to quit cold turkey.

Nexus Mods Banned NoSkyrim

Here’s the problem for NoSkyrim. If people stop playing addictive games, then they stop visiting mod websites. Therefore, by helping people to cure their addiction, the NoSkyrim mod is potentially affecting the website’s profit. We suspect that loss of profit is the reason that Nexus Mods, the website where players go to download mods, banned NoSkyrim.

This has not been a popular move for Nexus Mods customers. In the eyes of gamers, the website was putting money ahead of the health of their fellow gamers. This led to several petitions and Reddit forums set up to spread awareness of the dangers of video game addiction. Smaller websites have begun to make NoSkyrim available to players, but the larger websites like Nexus Mods refuse to budge.

How to Protect Your Children from Online Addiction

Leaving kids to regulate on their own is not an effective strategy in most families. Big tech’s manipulative design for devices and games makes management challenging. Here are some ways you can support your kids for healthier gaming:

Provide your kids with real-world activities to maintain an offline/online balance.
Spend more time as a family on- and offline.
Research games and online activities that your child is interested in before you allow a probationary period.
Pay attention to ESRB ratings.
Check out Dr. Bennett’s online courses! There is the Screen Safety Toolkit for management resources and the Connected Family Course for rules and tools for a safe home setup.

Dr. B is in a unique position to help you to learn more about the dangers that children face when engaging in online activities and to help you to navigate safely throughout your journey as a practicing psychologist, university professor, and mother. In Dr. B’s book, Screen Time in the Mean Time, she discusses and attacks the issue of video game and online addiction and gives advice on how to protect your children from all things screen-related in a productive manner. Also, you can download the free GKIS Connected Family Agreement and get weekly blog articles simply by making a GKIS account on our website home page.

Thanks to CSUCI intern, Michael Watson for researching video game addiction and the ways in which gamers are solving the problem themselves.

I’m the mom psychologist who will help you GetKidsInternetSafe.

Onward to More Awesome Parenting,

Tracy S. Bennett, Ph.D.
Mom, Clinical Psychologist, CSUCI Adjunct Faculty
GetKidsInternetSafe.com

Works Cited

[1] Christian Gaca. (2016). Skyrim has sold 30 million copies worldwide. Gamereactor. https://www.gamereactor.eu/skyrim-has-sold-30-million-copies-worldwide/

[2] Entertainment Software Association. (2021). Elder Scroll V: Skyrim. ESRB. https://www.esrb.org/ratings/31575/The+Elder+Scrolls+V%3A+Skyrim/

[3] Black, D., Belsare, G., & Schlosser, S. (1999). Clinical features, psychiatric comorbidity, & health-related quality of life in persons reporting compulsive computer use behavior. J Clin Psychiatry 60(12):839–844.

[4] Ha, J., Yoo, H., Cho, I., Chin, B., Shin, D., & Kim, J. (2006). Psychiatric comorbidity assessed in Korean children & adolescents who screen positive for Internet addiction. J Clin Psychiatry 67(5):821–826.

[5] Kaess, M., Durkee, T., Brunner, R., Carli, V., Parzer, P., & Wasserman, C. (2014). Pathological Internet use among European adolescents: psychopathology & self-destructive behaviours. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 23(11):1093–1102.

[6] Ko, C., Yen, J., Chen, C., Yeh, Y., & Yen, C. (2009). Predictive values of psychiatric symptoms for internet addiction in adolescents: a 2-year prospective study. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 163(10): 937–943.

[7] Lin, I., Ko, C., Chang, Y., Liu, T., Wang, P., & Lin, H. (2014). The association between suicidality & Internet addiction & activities in Taiwanese adolescents. Compr Psychiatry 55(3): 504–510.

[8] Liu, M., Ming, Q., Yi, J., Wang, X., Yao, S. (2016). Screen time on school days & risks for psychiatric symptoms & self-harm in mainland Chinese adolescents. Frontiers In Psychology [serial online]. April 25, 2016;7Available from: PsycINFO, Ipswich, MA. Accessed June 11, 2017.

[9] Mehroof, M. & Griffiths, M.D. (2010). Online gaming addiction: the role of sensation seeking, self-control, neuroticism, aggression, state anxiety, & trait anxiety. Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw 13(3): 313–316.

[10] Shapira, N., Goldsmith, T., Keck, P., Khosla, U., & McElroy, S. (2000). Psychiatric features of individuals with problematic internet use. J Affect Disord 57(1–3): 267–272.

[11] Fauth-Buhler, M., & Mann, K. (2017). Neurobiological Correlates of Internet Gaming Disorder: Similarities to Pathological Gambling. Addictive Behaviors, vol. 64, 349–356.

[12] Yuan, K., Qin, W., Wang, G., Zeng, F., Zhao, L., & Yang, X. (2011). Microstructure Abnormalities in Adolescents with Internet Addiction Disorder. PLoS ONE 6(6): e20708.

[13] Kim, S., Baik, S., Park, C., Kim, S., Choi, S. & Kim, S. (2011). Reduced Striatal Dopamine D2 Receptors in People with Internet Addiction. NeuroReport 22.8: 407-11. Web.

[14] Koepp, M., Gunn, R., Lawrence, A., Cunningham, V., Dagher, A., Jones, T., Brooks, D., Bench, C., & Grasby, P. (1998). Evidence for striatal dopamine release during a video game. Nature 393: 266-268.

[15] Kühn, S., Romanowski, A., Schilling, C., Lorenz, R., Mörsen, C., Seiferth, N., & Banaschewski, T. (2011). The Neural Basis of Video Gaming. Translational Psychiatry 1: e53.

[16] Dong, G. Hu, Y., & Lin, X. (2013). Reward/punishment sensitivities among internet addicts: Implications for their addictive behaviors. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry, 46, 139–145.

Photo Credits

Photo by Ralston Smith (https://unsplash.com/photos/zc9pWsPZd4Y)

Photo by Pragii (https://unsplash.com/photos/pX829a6ObhE)

Photo by Eric Mclean (https://unsplash.com/photos/qgInQSplXBU)

Thanks to Kent Williams for the beautiful painting used for the thumbnail. (https://www.kentwilliams.com/paintings/2018/8/16/2018/8/16/m-w)

GKIS Now More Than EVER!

May 2, 2021 by Nickon Razi

In a time of online learning your child’s safety is vital, and GKIS is needed more than ever. Enjoy a highlight of Dr. B’s News Reels! With over 25 years in private practice, Dr. Bennett is seeing more families in crisis due to internet safety problems. To prevent digital injury, she developed GetKidsInternetSafe.com! When it’s your kids ON-the-LINE GetKidsInternetSafe.com

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The GKIS Sensible Parent’s Guide to Omegle

April 29, 2021 by Dakota Byrne

During the age of lockdowns and quarantines, many children have discovered a new way of finding someone new to talk to. A website known as Omegle, and other websites like it, have filled this social gap in many people’s lives. Omegle is considered a ‘roulette’ style website, where users may set interests and get matched with people with the same interest. This can be only a text chat, or it can be a video chat. If you find screen safety issues overwhelming in your family, you’ll benefit from Dr. Bennett’s weekly parenting and coaching videos on our Screen Safety Essentials Course. The most important thing that parents can do is be aware of the potential risks and promote an environment of open communication with your children. In this program, Dr. B offers a comprehensive family program for fostering this kind of communication in her Screen Safety Essentials Course. With this course, your family will learn tons of information about how to create a safer screen home environment while also connecting and having fun as a family. Armed with the right tools, you and your family can learn how to better thrive in today’s digital era. In this GKIS Sensible Guide, we will explain what you should know before letting your child chat away with complete strangers.

How long has Omegle been around, and how popular is it?

Omegle was created in March 2009. Omegle has recently seen over 54 million daily visits.[2] According to Google, searches for the site began to increase during March 2020, with the number of searches quadrupling the week before Christmas.[1] This surge in users isn’t much of a surprise. People were stuck inside their homes for almost a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Much of that time was spent on the computer, so why wouldn’t a website that allows someone to meet a new person be appealing? Teenagers have also created a ritual of hanging out together in person and going on Omegle as a group.

Omegle does state that to use the website, one must be over the age of 13. This is done with a simple pop-up box that can be clicked away. No date verification is required, so this is easy for children to bypass. As explained in the book Screen Time in the Mean Time, parents should use their best judgment to determine whether or not their child is ready to use a website like this. This GKIS Sensible Guide aims to help inform the parents so they are able to make the best decision possible.

Features of Omegle

Text-Chat

Individuals are prompted to enter optional interests to help match them. There are two options for the text chat: Text or Spy Mode
- Text: Users are randomly matched in pairs, either based on their interests or completely at random if no interests were entered. Users are completely anonymous so there is no way to get someone’s information unless they offer it. Even if they offer it, they can (and likely will) lie. Either user may end the chat at any time.
- Spy: Three users are matched together, two regular chatters and a spy. The spy prompts the other two with a previously entered question. The spy is unable to contribute to the conversation at all, they may only watch. The chatters focus on answering the question presented. Any user can end the conversation at any time.
There is no option for a ‘filtered’ text option. The website warns against profanity, sexual harassment, or violent threats, but there is no way to filter those statements out. If the user gets matched with someone who does any of these, the website simply says to ‘end the chat’.
The website itself warns that predators have been known to use text/video chat to groom or lure victims. It claims that it cannot control human behavior, and only the person committing these actions should be held accountable.

Video-Chat

Similar to text chat, users are randomly matched based on interests if possible. This can be in pairs or in groups. All user’s webcams will turn on while searching for a match.
This section has an option to report nudity, violent threats, and sexual content in addition to numerous other things one might encounter during chatting. This section does not allow any of these.
This section is aimed at users under the age of 18.
These filters to protect users don’t always work. Even the website itself warns that some things of inappropriate nature might be encountered.

“Unmonitored” Video-Chat

This is a carbon copy of the video-chat section with one crucial difference. No filter is used to prevent users from showing nudity or sexual imagery on their webcam chat.
This section is aimed at users who want a more ‘mature’ chatting experience, as long as they are over the age of 18.

Benefits of Omegle

When used correctly, and age-appropriately, it allows for individuals to talk with someone who has similar interests.
It can help an individual feel less alone and more connected in a quarantined world.

Risks of Omegle

The filters in place for the monitored section have inconsistent results. Some users still report encountering things that they shouldn’t several times in a row.
Children are more susceptible to believing an individual who may be lying. This may result in them giving information they shouldn’t to a complete stranger.
This website has the potential to expose children to sexual imagery, violent threats, phishing scams, and numerous other dangers.
None of the age checks are secure. Your child can easily access a section of the website that they shouldn’t with one simple click, no verification needed. This poses both a giant risk for the child and a giant temptation for them.

Throughout its lifetime Omegle has proven to be a constant source of controversy. This led GKIS to consider Omegle to be a red-light app, meaning that it is not recommended for anyone under the age of 18. The possible exposure to explicit material is too hard to control, and the fact that the website itself warns that predators do use this website to target victims were two of many factors that led us to this decision. If you think that your child may be using Omegle or other social media apps, consider our Social Media Readiness Course to help them stay safe.

Thanks to CSUCI intern, Dakota Byrne for researching Omegle and co-authoring this article.