Social-Emotional Skills for teens that are essential in the Digital World

• Image Credit: Internet

• Nov 4, 2022 | Kabir Chakraborty

It is crucial to discuss with your teen the importance of carefully selecting online friends.

Digital Desk: As a result of the pandemic, children nowadays, spent more time learning and having fun online and on digital gadgets. It has also increased demand for and support for social-emotional development in classrooms and homes.

Social-emotional learning is defined as the process by which all children and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, abilities, and attitudes required to form positive self-concepts, control emotions, achieve individual and group goals, feel and demonstrate empathy for others, build and sustain healthy relationships, and make caring and considerate decisions.

In an Instagram post, Dr. Hina Talib, Pediatrician and Adolescent Medicine Specialist, suggested several social-emotional skills for teenagers that are important in the digital world. Here are a few of them:

1. Recognize feelings and perspectives virtually

Engage your teen in a conversation about what they have seen or read about friends' posts or social relationships. In order to foster perspective-taking skills, ask questions like "What do you think she meant when she said?" Hold a healthy family debate on an online article and encourage children to stick to their points while also understanding the points of others.

2. Carefully consider online friendship

It is crucial to discuss with your teen the importance of carefully selecting online friends. Encourage them to choose friends who understand and support them so that they can maintain these relationships. Encourage your teen to maintain appropriate boundaries in online friendships.

3. "Read the room" online

When we walk into a room, we learn how to read other people's facial expressions and tone of voice to get a "sense" of how the room is feeling. This becomes more difficult with online friendships. Though video chat provides more nonverbal cues, posts and comments necessitate more investigation. Maintaining open and honest communication with your teen will encourage them to contact you if they come across an uncomfortable post online.