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# Social Media is Shaping Our Children
- URL: https://www.iqra.ca/2026/social-media-is-shaping-our-children/
- Published: 2026-01-05T16:00:50.000Z
- Updated: 2026-01-05T16:00:49.000Z
- Description: Social platforms are not designed with children’s well-being in mind. Without guidance, they shape attention, language, empathy, and identity—often quietly and powerfully.
- Author: Iqra
- Tags: Reflections, Edmonton Islamic Academy, Abraham Abougouche, Muslim Canada

*By Abraham Abougouche, Principal at Edmonton Islamic Academy*

Social media is shaping our children.   
  
Recent student survey data is sobering:  
• Children as young as Grade 1 already own smartphones  
• Nearly all Grade 9 students have personal devices  
• Teen screen time now exceeds 5 hours a day  
• Many students admit they don’t consider others’ feelings when posting  
• A significant portion of school discipline issues begin in unmonitored group chats  
  
This is not simply a technology issue.

It’s a developmental, ethical, and values issue.  
  
Social platforms are not designed with children’s well-being in mind. 

Without guidance, they shape attention, language, empathy, and identity—often quietly and powerfully.  
  
What can educators and parents do immediately?  
  
✔ Schools must introduce Social Media Awareness campaigns for parents and students. They need help with this!  
✔ Delay phone ownership, especially in elementary years  
✔ Delay access to social media until high school or later  
✔ Keep phones out of bedrooms and off the table at meals  
✔ Create a neutral charging station at night  
✔ Use parental controls—but prioritize conversation and presence  
✔ Stay informed about apps, group chats, and online norms  

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/ab/42/ab42dd87-d304-441a-9238-995fd7c1af98/content/images/2025/12/socialmedia.jpeg)