SOCIAL MEDIA GUILT
www.icenimagazine.co.uk
Issue 82 2020
Social Media Guilt Article By Missy Hitchcox
On a near daily basis, I grapple with my reluctance to spend time on social media, and my compulsive desire to stare at it without purpose. From a parental and educator point of view, it really is invaluable in its ability to provide networking, knowledge and support. Without the large online home educating community, it would require substantially greater effort on my part to discover the array of classes, workshops, groups and gatherings available to my child. I can rather effortlessly find myself tagged in relevant posts, invited to appealing events and generally stay connected with the people and activities we find essentially beneficial to our home education journey. Of course, there’s the addition that online platforms can be wonderful for harnessing
a child’s creativity. While I wouldn’t dream of allowing my six year old to roam free on social media, with safeguarding measures, some apps can prove wonderfully entertaining and educational. So far this month, social media has proved useful in orchestrating the re-enrolment of several classes we attend, and has served up an offering of museum visits, baking workshops, play dates and discounted resources. And aside from education, the support available to parents via social media is phenomenal. A query posted on a parenting-related page can be answered in mere minutes. And sometimes just seeing a relatable meme or a comical status can be a reassuring nod or gentle nudge to keep persevering through tricky times. Also, the opportunity to bore your family and friends with endless photos of your kids’ everyday happenings is too good to pass up.
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