By Tilly Rose.

SCHOOL'S out and summer is here, which leaves generation ‘scroll’ with an infinite amount of time to, well, scroll.

Observing the familiar flick of a child’s thumb against their screen is enough to unnerve most parents; what are they looking at? Who are they being influenced by? Is screen time replacing social interaction? For many parents, this is unknown territory; they don’t know their ‘square’ from their ‘story’, their ‘flat lay’ from their ‘feed’, leading to the all-to familiar line ‘enough now, put your phone away’.

Oxford Mail:

Over the last 8 years, researchers at the Oxford Internet Institute have been assessing the widespread concern about the relationship between social media usage and teenagers’ wellbeing.

Their findings, published this spring, show that the impact of social media on the life satisfaction of British teenagers is small at best, leading to a sigh of relief from parents nationwide.

ALSO READ: Campaign encouraging month without social media returns

Yet this report revolved around social media usage on a typical school day.

With the summer holidays upon us and endless days to fill over the next six weeks, generations of young people will have more time than ever to devote to their online lives.

ALSO READ: Be kind on social media says Bishop of Oxford

For parents, this will understandably be a cause for concern - and with 4G now reaching even the remotest of locations, disconnecting the WiFi is no longer a feasible solution.

Social media is part of millennials’ everyday reality and it’s here to stay, so my advice this summer is if you can’t beat ‘em join ‘em. Yes, that’s right; it’s time to start involving yourself in your child’s online life, just as much as their offline one.

ALSO READ: Children as young as two using social media, research suggests

You might be pleasantly surprised at what you find.

When I launched ‘That Oxford Girl’, a blog and Instagram providing a student perspective of the application process and life at Oxford University, never did I imagine the impact it would have on access to higher education.

Oxford Mail:

The author, Tilly Rose. Picture: Olly Wood UK

PROFILE: Tilly Rose

The Instagram now has over 31,000 followers and the blog has reached over half-a-million views, with hundreds of testimonials from young people saying this small corner of the internet has inspired them and given them the confidence to consider applying to Oxford University.

My own journey has taught me that, if we want to engage young people, we need to speak to them in their language and connect with them on the very platforms they are familiar with: social media.

Take the recent example of Greta Thunberg who, far from being disheartened by her classmates’ refusal to 'strike' with her over climate change, turned to social media and rallied an estimated 1.4 million students around the world to join her activism.

ALSO READ: Student strike Oxford: first demonstration - as it happened

All too often parents see social media as a world solely revolving around fashion, food and fitness but have you ever stopped to ask your child: ‘which apps are you on? Who are you following? Have you read any interesting stories online today?’

This summer it’s time for parents to engage in the conversation; for social media really can be a force for social good.

Tilly Rose is the founder of 'That Oxford Girl'