World Social Media Day is celebrated on June 30th. We often hear the negative side to social media use but this day seeks to share the positive aspects of these global communication channels. Read on to find out more about this special day and how to celebrate it with your children.

Why do we celebrate World Social Media Day?

World Social Media Day was launched by Mashable on June 30th, in 2010. As keen social media advocates they wanted a day of celebration to recognise social media's role in connecting people across the world, bringing together different cultures, uniting causes and creating trends. The hashtag #SMDay is now used on this day each year.

How can I get involved in World Social Media Day?

Simple! Share positive thoughts and actions through your social media channels and use the hashtag to join the conversation with others. How about celebrating with your children? We have some great ways you can celebrate as a family, demonstrating that social media is not just to be enjoyed by young people alone.

How to celebrate World Social Media Day with your Children

• Create a family pledge to always use social media for good

Celebrate World Social Media Day with a family pledge to always use social media for good. To keep it fun, the children can work on a brand identity for it. Use handy online design tools, such as Canva, to pick up ready-made templates that you can customise. Once you have a winning design, proudly share it on your social channels (not forgetting the hashtag) along with the agreed pledge. What a positive thing to share!  

• Start a conversation with your children

All too often parents feel out of their depth with the online world and disconnected from their children’s experiences. World Social Media day is a great excuse to start a conversation. How about asking them to list their Top Five favourite things about social media? Or if they are too young to have been involved, ask them what they already know about social media and what they think about it all. 

• Create a video or reel with your children

Come up with a social-style reel or video that is scripted and put together with your children. You could set a brief such as:

“Make a video that promotes a cause you feel passionate about.”

This will help them to use this medium to express themselves. If the video is to be shared, ensure appropriate permissions have been given by anyone featuring in it. Once you have a video ready-to-go, you can share it on their behalf and demonstrate how this communicates their cause to people around the world. 

Social Media Resources

Whilst this day is a celebration of social media, there are plenty of resources available to help ensure that your child is ready for this type of global interaction. 

As online safety experts, Natterhub can help. We provide guidance for schools and parents that support a scenario-based approach to teaching and learning. 

Access free parent resources , find out how children really feel about being online and discover the best way to teach social media responsibility. You may also be interested in our Rate My YouTuber feature, which is run by an online-savvy youth board to provide a list of child-friendly YouTubers and channels.

Stay safe and enjoy the celebrations!