In recent times, since the advent of the internet by extension the digital world, the rapid explosion of social media content has brought both opportunities and challenges for today’s children. This has reshaped their social interactions, it has affected their mental development, and has subsequently waned down their emotional well-being.

As we see children progressively engage with digital devices, there have been great concerns over the negative effects of social media in their lives – such as rage, anxiety, cyberbullying, and reduced attention spans. In return, parents across the globe face the onerous task of guiding their children through this complex digital landscape. Nonetheless, the sincerity of parents to want to help their wards navigate the digital world successfully, many of them still feel stunned or ill-equipped to manage their children’s online presence effectively. In a bid to do this, unfortunately, many parents have either misled their children to brazenly progressive in error or threw in the towel for lack of mental and relational abilities.

I believe, the time parents need the expertise of parent coaches to help families navigate the evolving challenges of the digital age is now. Today’s generational of children are growing up as generation of paradoxes as a scholar and Generation Z and Generation Alpha Researcher Dr. Tim Elmore as captured in his book; GENERATION Z UNFILTERED. Paradoxes surround them, he remarked. They are independent yet dependent on parents; they are both often alone yet never alone; they are technologically advanced yet emotionally behind; their life is both authentic yet artificial; their world is easy yet very hard.

These paradoxes are the result of uncertain times and the challenges that I believe parent coaches must rise up to.

In my short time in the world, I have witnessed three generations X 1965 – 1982. This generation was marked by digital Television and digital Telephone. Then came the Millennials – Generation Y 1983-2000. Their generation was marked by the internet. Generation Z 2000-2018, the social media generation. Some call them the dot.com era

We should not be surprised that generation Z and generation Alpha who are the great natives of the social media world are TECHSAVVY and this has further put onus on the parent coaches to primarily focus on the issues facing 21st century teenagers, brought on by; social media, parenting styles, Artificial Intelligence, students’ performance cultures, on-demand lifestyles, portable devices, and significant cultural shifts. Regardless, of these challenges. The good news is that this paper is going to present to parent coaches suggested interventions and their benefits. In addition to data, I will proffer researched based solutions to these challenges and answers parents can utilize in their homes. One of the purposes of doing this as Dr. Tim Elmore posited is that we want the teenagers /generation Z to grow into healthy adults who exhibit responsibility, resourcefulness, and resilience.

The realities of today’s generation of children is that their experience has upside and a downside to them. Upside: they have access to Information and Technology; children today have unhindered access to technology and information. This opens doors to new learning opportunities, creativity, and global awareness. There is also social connectivity, the digital world allows them to connect with peers across the globe, they build communities by sharing ideas. How about innovative education models? with remote learning, online platforms, and advanced educational tools, children can learn at their own pace, access diverse resources, and explore their interests.

On the downside; the overexposure to technology can be hazardous to them because too much screen time can negatively affect their social skills, attention span, and physical health. Mental health challenge is a downturn that heralds social media pressures, cyberstalking, cyberbullying, and the overwhelming flow of information contribute to increased stress, anxiety, and depression among children. We have seen this happen endlessly in or practice. The reason parent coaches need to be equipped to correct the anomaly

There is also the angle of diminishing physical play. With more focus on virtual experiences, children may miss out on physical activity and face-to-face social interactions, which are essential for development.

Our job to balance these realities is critical for the well-being of this generation.

Several scholars and experts have extensively researched the effects of social media on today’s children and youth. I have Jean M. Twenge, in his notable work: iGen: Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy—and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood (2017)

Jean M. Twenge studied how the rise of smartphones and social media has contributed to mental health issues such as anxiety and depression in Generation Z. She emphasizes the correlation between screen time and emotional well-being in children and teenagers.

She further revealed that the rates of depression among adolescents increased by 63% between 2010 and 2015. Additionally, suicide rates for teens aged 13 to 18 rose by 31% in the same period.

Her explanation hinged on the rise in mental health issues to the increased use of smartphones and social media. She argues that the growing number of hours spent online has replaced time spent on activities that promote mental well-being, such as face-to-face social interaction, physical activity, and sleep.

The data from Dr. Tim Elmore on Mental health crisis among youth revealed the 63% increase in adolescent depression between 2010 and 2015, a statistic that aligns with the data submission from Dr. Jean Twenge’s research.

He also notes that one in five adolescents (about 20%) struggles with some form of mental illness, such as depression or anxiety, according to data from the National Institute of Mental Health.

In response to the challenges highlighted by the verifiable data from scholars on the effects of social media on teens and youth, I suggest the following interventions that parent coaches can introduce to help address and mitigate the situation.

1. Establishment of teens’ identity. One of the challenges facing generation Z is that they live in an identity – fluid world. How we define ourselves is changing faster than ever. The world we live in is in a constant state of instability with many updates, click-baits, breaking news, streams and screens, influencers effect. When teens do not know their identity they are likely going to fall victims of this identity fluid world. teens misbehave because of one of these two reasons; non remembrance of self and non- identity of self. By helping teens stay rooted in their core identity and lineage can serve as a strong anchor that will counter the influence of an increasingly identity-fluid world.

2. Parent coaches can help parents teach teens digital etiquette and responsibility. Generation Z wants freedom without corresponding responsibility. No, this must stop. There is no absolute freedom anywhere without responsibility. Parents should teach their children how to use social media responsibly. This includes understanding online manners, respecting others’ opinions, and how to handle cyberbullying.

3. Building emotional resilience in teens. One of the ways to achieve this is to make children go through age-appropriate struggle and pain. Generation Z is the most nurtured generation of all because ours is a world that conditioned children to avoid pain or hurt at any cost, which has further diminished the cultivation of resilience in them. This will ultimately leave teens miserably unready for adulthood but teaching parents on how to build emotional resilience in their children will curb the imminent emotionally brittle adult when they grow up.

4. Accountability. Parent coaches must impress it on the parents to make their teenagers accountable. Since the children almost have everything they want at their beck, they must therefore learn to experience the perks and the price of accountability.

5. Healthy boundaries must be set. Children will test the limits and push the boundaries if parents are not intentional in setting boundaries to mitigate against excesses. Parents naturally want to do what is best for the children, but we frequently don’t know how to develop them into emotionally healthy young people because we sometimes allow them to brazenly progress in error without boundaries. When parents are committed to giving their children every possible advantage in life, as long as they want to make this happen, parent coaches must equip them in this regard to set healthy boundaries to serve as a check.

The above interventions will in greater measures contribute to the liberation of the sad effect of social media on young people and also prepare parents with necessary tools with these benefits.

1. The intervention of identity formation in Generation Z will solve the identity fluid problem and help them form a rooted sense of identity. Building on this will provide a foundation that helps them navigate the pressures of an ever-evolving, identity-fluid world. We encourage them to explore their values, cultural heritage, and unique strengths, by this, they will develop a strong sense of self that will act as a safeguard against external influences that may cause confusion or insecurity.

2. Emotional resilience will help the mental well-being of teens and equip them in ways to handle the stress, anxiety, and insecurity often triggered by social media. They are less likely to internalize negative feedback or feel overwhelmed by online pressures. The intervention of emotional resilience will reduce the impact of cyberbullying because resilient teens are better and have the ability to cope with incidents of cyberbullying or online harassment by helping them to recognize that such behavior reflects on the bully rather than their own worth. Their self – esteem also helps them to maintain a strong sense of self and reduce the need for external validation through click-baits or ‘likes’ button.

3. The intervention of accountability will help the Generation Z to live by ethics and values. If parents are going to be prepared to lead the way into the future, parent coaches must first lead the way by teaching parents on how to lay a set values and ethics. This will help them navigate the complexities of social media with integrity, resilience, and a sense of responsibility, ultimately protecting their well-being and promoting positive online experiences.

4. Digital etiquette will enhance information evaluation and aids critical thinking that will equip teens with the skills to assess the credibility and reliability of online information. Here lies wisdom to differentiate between fact and opinion and it will help them to navigate the huge amounts of content on social media without falling prey to misinformation or scandal. The ability to make Informed decision-making is also enhanced, when teens think critically. They can weigh every content against the value of truth, fairness, and justice.

As social media continues to shape the experiences of our young generation, it is crucial for parent coaches to be proactive in addressing its potential negative effects by collaborating with parents and families to raise a generation of healthy, adjusted, and resilient individuals who can harness the positive aspects of social media while mitigating its challenges to birth solutions to human problems.