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Blow up the Net and in an instant become popular as a sports or movie star… Today our children have such an opportunity. How to build a relationship with a young blogger who lives in the next room?
“Mom, give me the phone! I want to be a bloggeroo-oh!” XNUMX-year-old Masha sobs. And how not to want? Yesterday in kindergarten, she found out that her best friend Bogdana has thousands of subscribers and “millions” of likes. And she, Masha, can also do that – smile and dance, and she herself is beautiful. That’s what mom and dad say.
Novice bloggers have increased noticeably during the pandemic. The majority of children and adolescents in our country (90%) watch blogs, every second blogs at least once a week, and every fifth does it once or twice a week1.
“My daughter Snezhana is nine years old, and in six months she promoted her channel on TikTok,” says 34-year-old Veronika. – During self-isolation, the daughter often remained alone and independently conducted a “marketing study”: she showed funny skits, tried to sing and dance, and do yoga for her peers. And suddenly I discovered that soap bubbles with sparkles “come in” best of all. Now Snezhana blows bubbles to the music and uploads the video to the Web.
How do kids become bloggers? Why are they no longer interested in dreaming about space or cross stitching?
Balls for rollers
Let’s take a closer look at modern traditions that have begun to take shape quite recently. Children are filmed from the first day of life, and they get used to the camera.
The “Instagram culture” of young mothers, who post their every move on the social network, encourages children to imitate: “Hello world! Egorka and I are in the water park!” 25-year-old Daria writes on Instagram and shares a photo of her smiling son. Three-year-old Yegor perceives her blog as part of his life.
But even if there are no such customs in the family, then in kindergarten or at school the child will definitely learn about the possibility of putting his life on the Web. Children are collectors of stamps and calendars, and those who cannot be torn away from books have always been. Now little bloggers are just as enthusiastic about making content about their hobbies and uploading videos to the blog.
11-year-old Danila, the son of 35-year-old Ekaterina, cannot live without playing the guitar: “My son plays in a children’s rock band, and they have their own video channel, and my husband helps Danila and his friends edit videos, shows how to do it , says Ekaterina. “And this is very similar to how my mother taught me how to cook borscht and sew on buttons.”
Interest groups
For most child bloggers who are passionate about hobbies, the main thing is to tell everyone about your special interest. “They, as a rule, do not have hundreds of subscribers, because this is not provocative content,” says family and child psychologist Katerina Demina, “but among young bloggers there are those who strive for fame, universal approval. Such children are not interested in a blog, but in their own promotion, the attention of subscribers.
It’s a narcissistic desire: I’m missing something to feel fulfilled. The child seeks attention, admiration, adoration. But he still remains dissatisfied, because “glory” on the Web is impersonal, virtual.
A children’s blog can also serve as a narcissistic extension for parents who want to be proud of their child, not for their own sake, but for their own sake, to feel special. Such parents encourage the child and even become its producers. And for a child, blogging turns from entertainment into a duty.
But more often the picture is different: we want the heir to study well and play the violin, but he disappears for many hours on the Web, filming, editing, corresponding with friends. “Do not rush to lament about this,” says clinical psychologist Olga Fidrya. “A blog can help a child socialize, find friends and like-minded people.”
Life Behind the Scenes
Galina Soldatova, Director of the Internet Development Fund, Doctor of Psychology
Attempts to keep a blog made children psychologically stronger, more adaptive, developed their creativity and efficiency. But an active presence on the Web also creates problems that need to be addressed.
“Many were surprised by the results of a study conducted by our Internet Development Foundation in 2021: it turned out that young bloggers study well at school, strive for leadership in the classroom, they are friendly, able to communicate and negotiate with teachers. By shooting videos, child bloggers learn to interact with the audience and understand the needs of others. Bloggers with more followers have higher digital literacy.
Teenagers on the Web realize the main need of this age – the need for communication. By blogging, a teenager can compensate for the lack of communication in real life and even turn from an introvert into an extrovert. But like any medal, blogging has a downside. Online life has its own trends, today a blogger has thousands of subscribers, and tomorrow they forget about him. It is difficult for many to survive the loss of popularity.
Another problem is the retouched image of oneself, to which the author himself and his subscribers get used. Some girls masterfully use Photoshop and bring their image to perfection, and teenagers strive to imitate idols: as a result, every third teenage girl in our country suffers from eating disorders and is prone to anorexia.
The network can influence self-identity: a boy with the nickname Oli London started blogging about the pop group BTS as a teenager, and as an adult, he underwent about fifteen plastic surgeries to look like a double of one of the group members.
In Norway, a movement against the correction of images on the Web is actively developing. His devotees believe that influencers should label photos and videos with the “improved content” label. So children and teenagers will be able to distinguish between virtual and real images.
Be together
Parents are calmer when they know what their child is doing – including on the Web. Even if we are not so curious about the topics of his blog in themselves, we can wonder why they are captivating children and what they do.
It would be useful to talk about security rules on the Web, reminds Olga Fidrya, and offers some recommendations:
1. Trust each other
Tell your son or daughter about your childhood: how you quarreled with a friend and what helped you make peace, how you first drank at a party, fell in love with an “inappropriate” guy. Be frank – this is the only way you can count on reciprocity.
2. Be prepared for hate and bullying
Children and adolescents are more sensitive to social evaluations than adults. And it can be difficult for them to disregard the opinions of others, to understand that content criticism does not necessarily apply to them as a person.
As the audience grows, the number of haters will inevitably grow. The task of parents is to explain that haters behave this way towards everyone. If your child overreacts to negative comments, limit the feedback.
3. Protect your child’s privacy
The sooner parents explain to the child what can and cannot be shared on the Web, the less likely he is to become a victim of scammers. Tell your child that under no circumstances should you give out information about the school, your address.
4. Think about the risk of addiction
10-12% of Russian teenagers are prone to Internet addiction. Help your child switch to other activities. Welcome gatherings with peers at your home and outdoor activities, discuss interesting films, concerts and exhibitions. If a child has no other leisure time than the Internet, and he does not communicate with friends offline, then this is a signal – he needs help.