Meaning of social mediaSocial media includes popular networking websites, like Facebook and Twitter.  It involves groups, forums and other platforms for interactive sharing and discussion of various events, news, blog post and articles.Definition of social media“Social media are platforms that enable the interactive web by engaging users to participate in, comment on and create content as means of communicating with their social graph, other users and the public”(Cohen, 2011).Parent Child Relationship“The parent-child relationship consists of a combination of behaviour’s, feelings, and expectations that are unique to a particular parent and a particular child.  The relationship involves the full extent of a child's development.” Of the many different people form over the course of the life span, the relationship between parent and child is among the most important.  The quality of the parent-child relationship is affected by the parent’s age, experience, and self-confidence, the unique characteristics of the child compared with those of the parent. Social Media Effect on Parent Child RelationshipFor better or worse, social media has changed the way we parent.  You may not have been able to get a conversation out of your teenager at dinner, but if you check their Facebook page, you can find out if they’re in a relationship.“Social media, a term that is used to define communicating and networking with others through the internet using a website site such as Facebook or Twitter, has completely changed the world.  In particular, its influence on parenting is enormous.”People love social media technology, and it’s great that kids have access to endless amounts of information and culture.  We are witnessing a new digital revolution.For BetterIn general, social media has influenced parenting for the better.  Pregnancy and parenting unite people as you could have absolutely nothing else in common with another person except that you both have a child or are pregnant and suddenly you are so very much the same.It was through social media that people are able to find people going through the same experiences you are going through, and are able to connect with them.  There are many social media forums and groups where you can join in and support each other, grieve many losses, celebrate healthy births, ask thousands of questions that people are too embarrassed to even ask our own doctors.For WorseSocial media has the power to bring out the ugly and envious side in us as we start comparing our parent child relationship with that of others which is utter nonsense and should never be done.  Unfortunately, these are difficult lessons to learn.Parents are usually the Role model for their children.  The way their parents use the social media is often noticed and imbibed by the children at a faster rate than other good qualities which they should imbibe.  People often view Facebook, go through their emails when with their children impacting their children and their habits .The other issue is the addiction attached to the social media and games that tend to bypass other things and give less time to important things in the day.  Thus the parents should understand and control their child as well as themselves from not over indulging in anything.The last issue is that people tend to suffer heavily by constantly glaring through social media, especially eye problems. Thus to avoid a long term problem both parent and child should understand the issue and concern.“Overall, social media is a very useful tool. People can’t imagine what their life would be without pictures of their beautiful daughter plastered all over Facebook for friends and family to enjoy, what life without Twitter in general would be like, or what loosing hundreds of amazing online friendships would do to me.”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luy-EjwrDeQ A research was conducted in April 2016, the highlights of which are following,1)Types of social media engaged in frequentlyTypes of social media engaged in frequentlyPercentage %Whats App84Facebook59Instagram16Twitter 13LinkedIn13Other 1 (Multiple responses obtained)Interpretation-84 out of 100 subjects used WhatsApp frequently whereas 59 of 100 used Facebook.Thus it is clearly evident that Facebook and WhatsApp are the major social media sites which eat up the time of the parent.16 participants used Instagram. 13 participants used LinkedIn and 13 participants used twitter.There was 1 participant who also used YouTube frequently. 2) Type of activity carried out by parent and child togetherType of activity carried out by parent and child togetherPercentage %Indoor/outdoor games47Play with toys40Talking/chatting38Reading books34Reading books13Others2 (Multiple responses obtained)Interpretation Major type of activity that almost 47 participants carry with their children is Indoor/Outdoor games thus inculcating the habit of playing in natural environment and not on electronic device.Also there are 40 such participants who play with toys along with the child and be a child themselves, whereas 38 of those participants also talk and chat together and spend more time just developing trust.There are few parents, almost 13 of the total sample size who indulge in playing computer games along with their children thus developing a wrong habit of playing on the computer rather than out in the nature. 3) Engagement of children during parental usage of an electronic deviceEngagement of children during parental usage of an electronic devicePercentage %Sleeping 42Playing34Watching TV29Studying 12At tuitions11Others4(Multiple responses obtained)Interpretation 82% of the responses pointed the use of social media while the child is busy playing, watching TV or sleeping with 33% using while the child is sleeping whereas 26% and 23% use while they are playing and watching TV.While remaining 18% of the responses hinted that they use social media while the child is studying or at tuitions.This clearly points out that parents majorly use social media while the child is sleeping or engrossed in playing / watching TV thus not affecting the quality time spent with child. 4) Use of social media in educating the childUse of social media in educating the childPercentage %Yes63No37Total 100 Interpretation 63% participants use social media to educate their children while 37% do not use social media to educate their children.Thus the chart clearly carves out that there is a growing sense of feeling that social media can be used in educating children. 5) Hand of social media in narrowing the gap between parents and childrenHand of social media in narrowing the gap between parents and childrenPercentage %Yes 62No38Total100 Interpretation When asked about whether social media has narrowed the gap between parents and children 62% participants said yes and 38% refrained from the same.The reason that was given by maximum participants was, “No quality time is given because of constant engagement on social media”6) Relationship healthier without social mediaRelationship healthier without social media Percentage %Yes 76No24Total100  Interpretation 76% out of the total participants answered yes that their relationship would be healthier without social media and the reason given was that no quality time is given to family because of constant use of social media.  The remaining 24% were of the different view and had a belief that people need to balance their lives be it social media or anything else. RecommendationsSchools should train the parents regarding the potential effects of the excessive use of social media on parent-child relationship.It is highly recommended that the use of social media for child education should be limited as there are other ways to educate the child regarding the same things learnt on the electronic device.The most important recommendation is parents should understand that the relation between child and parent is of utmost importance and the relation needs different inputs at various stages of growing up.  Thus the awareness of the various things needed to nurture the relationship is of utmost importance.