Motherhood is a task that requires all attention and seriousness it can get. Christian mothers must understand that motherhood is a God-given task that requires putting their all into it. Christian mothers must have an adequate understanding of their roles on their children and seek all means to play them out to make the family, society, and the world at large a good place to live. Social media platforms have continued to tremendously add value to society in many ways. It has continued to provide fast and easy communication, and relationships have also been built and sustained on them. Moreover, they are also contributing to easy academic endeavours. Teenagers are individuals transiting from childhood to adulthood; hence their lives are characterised by a series of decisions and activities. One of the means through which these attributes are exhibited is their use of social media platforms. However, this platform has been abused over the years as in noticeable numbers of cases, social media has been used to perpetrate criminal acts such as frauds, and it has led to wrong decision making, to mention but a few. Hence, seeing the importance of social media in the development of teenagers in the current generation, it is essential to address those responsible for their upbringing, one of whom are the mothers. The study is descriptive; hence it employed the use of a questionnaire to elicit information from teenagers and made use of books, articles, journals and internet sources to conduct findings.
Contents
Abstract
Introduction
Concept of Teenagers
Social Media and Teenagers
Advantages of Social Media
Mothers and Teens on the Use of Social Media
Conclusion
Recommendations
REFERENCES
Abstract
Motherhood is a task that requires all attention and seriousness it can get. Christian mothers must understand that motherhood is a God-given task that requires putting their all into it. Christian mothers must have an adequate understanding of their roles on their children and seek all means to play them out to make the family, society, and the world at large a good place to live. Social media platforms have continued to tremendously add value to society in many ways. It has continued to provide fast and easy communication, and relationships have also been built and sustained on them. Moreover, they are also contributing to easy academic endeavours. Teenagers are individuals transiting from childhood to adulthood; hence their lives are characterised by a series of decisions and activities. One of the means through which these attributes are exhibited is their use of social media platforms. However, this platform has been abused over the years as in noticeable numbers of cases, social media has been used to perpetrate criminal acts such as frauds, and it has led to wrong decision making, to mention but a few. Hence, seeing the importance of social media in the development of teenagers in the current generation, it is essential to address those responsible for their upbringing, one of whom are the mothers. The study is descriptive; hence it employed the use of a questionnaire to elicit information from teenagers and made use of books, articles, journals and internet sources to conduct findings.
KEYWORDS – Mother, Teenagers, and Social media.
Introduction
Society is changing, and attention must be paid to the ways things are going. One of the things leading to societal changes is the advancement in technology which has led to the advent of social media. It is no gainsaying that social media has won the hearts of many teenagers. In recent times, teenagers are not left out of the menace of social media abuse. On June 26 2021, Anazia and other journalists for the Guardian News published an interview with the honourable minister for information, Lai Mohammed, concerning the banning of Twitter, a social media platform popularly used by youths and teenagers in Nigeria other parts of the world. Many reactions followed, and one is from an online publisher identified as Mr Fisayo Akinduro, who said that “the social media needed to be regulated because some Nigerians were abusing them.” Furthermore, giving an instance, he noted that the social media platform had been used to disseminate fake news and information. This submission indicates that social media abuse is indeed a matter to consider.
However, the use of social media to promote peace and tranquillity cannot be overemphasised. It is helpful for information dissemination, business and education, among other good uses. Unfortunately, it has become a tool to perpetuate evil in the hands of some youths and teenagers. Abuse such as fraud, bullying, false information dissemination and others have been noticed among noticeable numbers of Nigerian teenagers who can at least afford to own or have access to the internet and can make use of information technology communication (ICT) gadgets such as phones, laptops, tablets and others. On January 28, 2017, Ezea for the Guardian News published an article which revealed that the abuse of social media among teens and youths popularly referred to as “yahoo boys” became prevalent in Nigeria in the year 2000 with the increase in access to the internet—adding that youths who engage in this become rich overnight with or without their parent’s knowledge. They soon become highly respected and then initiate their peers into the act.
Moreover, in the face of the realities, it is disheartening to hear that the parents of these said youths support this sacrilegious act, especially their mothers. News of it graced the headlines of noticeable numbers of Newspapers and sites. Such as Sahara Reporters (October 2019), Punch Newspaper (November 2019) and the Guardian Newspaper (November 2019). All of these reported the claims of Ibrahim Magu, the acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). It was said that all attempts to rehabilitate those caught in the act have proved abortive because their parents, especially the mothers, have solidly supported them hence, the tag ‘Yahoo Mothers Association.’ However, one would say Magu has no empirical proof to justify his claims, but this researcher has heard from a reliable source where she volunteers as a children’s pastor that a young boy engaged in yahoo (cyber fraud) was building and the mother was actively involved telling the young boy not to let his father know. Also, in a conversation with some women, two mothers boldly said they would support their child in the sacrilegious act provided it brings good money. These are just to mention, but a few of these proves.
Given the above, it is expected that all hands be on deck to salvage the situation. It is no news that both parents have responsibilities on their children to bring them up the right way. However, in a typical African setting, mothers are expected to take the bulk of the responsibility since they are often observed to be with the child more. This notion is not to ignore the reality of the changing roles in the current dispensation, but the truth remains that many mothers spend more time with their children than their fathers. Hence, this study examines the roles of Christian mothers on their teenagers to curb the rate of social media abuse. Mothers can influence their teenagers physically, spiritually, and educationally.
Concept of Motherhood
Opening words of O’Reilly made it evident that conceptualising motherhood as a term may be difficult. O’Reilly (2004: 1) submits that more is known about the air one breaths and the seas one travels on than about the nature and meaning of motherhood. This submission reveals that giving an accurate definition, meaning, and description of the nature of motherhood may be difficult. However, for the sake of this discourse, an attempt shall be made. In the opinion of Toler (2021), “motherhood is at once a relationship, a social construct, a full-time job and an identity.” This opinion implies that the task of motherhood begins at the point of the relationship between a mother and her child (who may not be biological), and usually, it becomes a lifetime task that does not attract wages. Thus, making it a lifetime commitment. In the view of Grenholm (2011: 32), motherhood is in two folds that is; it is a process of creation that is both active and passive” in this view, Grenholm posit that the process of motherhood begins with the woman’s accommodation of another life in her. If this is the only definition of motherhood, then it limits motherhood to the union between a woman and her biological child, which negates other possible processes of becoming a mother, such as adoption.
Therefore, the definition of motherhood goes beyond a biological conceptualisation. Goodenough (1970: 24) substantiates this by saying that “motherhood is not simply about the biological connection between a woman and a child but other connections or relationships as well.” This submission indicates that motherhood is not limited to women who have given birth to their biological children but to all women who can play acceptable roles of a mother on a child, such as caring and nurturing the child. Given these submissions, it can be deduced that motherhood is a God-given assignment that should not be trivialised. Jankovic (2014: 2) substantiates this by saying, “motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling. One does not collect children because they are cuter than stamps. Children are not raised if they can squeeze the time in. Motherhood is what God gave you time for.” Hence, a Christian mother must be up and doing her task. Thus Christian mothers can be viewed as women responsible for child upbringing the Christian way.
Concept of Teenagers
Before delving into the roles of motherson their teenagers, it is essential to discuss teenagers and some of their characteristics briefly. Fuhrmann in Trimmer (1994: 19-20) sees adolescence (a variance of a teenager and youth) as one from the onset of puberty to the assumption of full adult roles physically, socially, legally and economically. This description reveals that teenagers are neither adults nor children as they are said to be in between. Henze (2015: 5) submits that the youth period, in a general sense, is
A period of life in-between childhood and adulthood is described as a time of experimenting with roles and identities, still void of the burden of social norms and obligations, yet slowly preparing the youngsters for their lives as full members of the social collective. During this process of social integration, young people find themselves in a complex social system, composed of such elements as tradition, history, social demands, hopes, and individual prospects, all of which they have to incorporate into a coherent picture in order to build a proper foundation for their personal life.
The above submission gives clear description of who teenagers are and what to expect from an individual at this stage of development. They are faced with many decisions to make about their lives at the moment and in the future. They are faced with identity crises and how to fit into their society. Hence, one would say that to Henze; teenagers are best described by their characteristics. Moreover, according to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2019: 17), this stage of life is “the distinct period of bio-developmental change in a person’s life that bridges childhood and adulthood. As such, it denotes a set of developmental transitions beginning with the onset of puberty.” This submission substantiates that there are changes in this period of life, and this change continues till the end of life. Two among the development include taking responsibility for oneself and forming relationships with others (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2019: 17). Hence, it suffices to say that noticeable numbers of teenagers in this era depend largely on social media to scale through this stage. However, social media allows them to relate with others and take responsibility for their actions. Consequently, they abuse the platform if left on their own.
Social Media and Teenagers
Society is changing, and these changes have had a significant impact on everyone; however, it seems to be evident on the teenagers, which are the focus of this paper. Since the advent of social media, many researchers have taken their time to dig deep into its concept and have several views on it. According to Mageto (2017), “social media refers to all applications around the globe to interconnect via the internet, chat, and share content; video call among many other functionalities it offers to its user.” Reflection on this description shows that social media covers all applications used to link individuals and persons around the world, which explains why its popularity has grown fast since the moment it came into existence, especially with teenagers. This deduction is substantiated by Juszczyk (2015: 80), whose findings reveal that “using social media websites is among the most common activities of today’s adolescent.”
Hence, teenagers have popularly been associated with the use of social media. Also, at the inception of the internet, according to Thakurta (2012: 353-354), it was described as “the information super-highway…. Compared to other media, the growth of the social media has been revolutionary, in terms of size, inclusivity, and quality of content.” This submission further shows that to a reasonable extent, social media has also won the hearts of teens and adults; however, it is most common among the younger generation.
In the Nigerian context, Facebook, Whatsapp, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat, among others, are notable examples of social media platforms common among teenagers. All of these have gained much popularity among the teenagers such that research carried out by Thakurta (2012: 355-336) revealed that 50% of Facebook users that are active log into the site daily which implies that at least 175 million users are active every 24 hours and the growth rate is alarming such that by the close of February 2010 users have exceeded 350 million.
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