This is why there is so much trouble with young kids. They are over exposed to things they shouldnt be

This was really surprising and a real eye-opener for me

Oh my gosh, this is so concerning.

I’m shocked at the length teens will go to too have social media as their Life! It’s very scary. My kids are only young & to try & protect them & keep technology away is a constant battle, as they have it at school not just at home. And are so much cleverer than me about it!

It’s very scary. Even going back to when I was in school I used to go into chat rooms just to find people to connect with because I felt that no one else understood me and I had few or no friends at school.

It’s scary what happens these days on Facebook.

I am not surprised by any of this. I follow my 16 year old son on FB and Instagram and Snapchat so I can see what he and his friends are doing. They sometimes forget who is following them. I have all of his passwords so I can check in every now and then. ‘m also aware of all of the private accounts his friends have. We use every moment as a teaching moment of what can and does happen on social media. I’m not stupid to think my son doesn’t do anything wrong. He has. And we’ve worked through it all as a family. He is part of group chats that flood him with commentary and info that he sometimes can’t deal with. There is so much of it. These kids are relentless. And we are switched on, connected parents who talk to our child all of the time. He shares with us what his friends are doing on Snapchat. We know who’s drinking underage, who’s smashed at parties, who’s doing the wrong thing. I’m amazed at the lack of parent care or interest in what their kids are doing. And, my hubby and I are constantly challenged by what other parents are not doing, and as a result our son feels hard done by. I do not care that he feels that way. I understand it, but explain it to him that we, his parents, care so much about his wellbeing, his mental health, and the type of person he is. We care. Versus many parents who either don’t care or are happy to put their head in the sand. I absolutely believe the social media situation, as it exists right now, is dire for children and it really worries me. All I can do is work with my son to encourage him to use it in the right and best way, and to keep our communication about it, open.

I take a hardline NO with my kids on owning a smart phone. It doesn’t stop their friends from sharing their smart phones and whatever is on it with MY kids though. ALL parents need to wake up and realise that pre-teens and teens are not emotionally or developmentally ready to have all that access at their fingertips. Why do kids need the internet unless they are at school or doing supervised homework?? If they need to keep in touch with their parents, an old “dumb” phone that just texts messages and sends/receives calls is what I think kids should only have access to.

One issue is that parents want to be friends with their children, friends that don’t enforce boundaries.

One issue is that parents want to be friends with their children, friends that don’t enforce boundaries. The other issue is laziness.

Social media certainly has it’s dangers.

This is so scary. I have a tween who is beginning to venture into the social media world soon and it worries me alot.

I think these kids would be surprised. I’m sure most parents are aware of most of these things, we aren’t that docile

My son hasn’t been exposed to any technology that he’s allowed to use yet and he’s 4. We even control what channel he can watch on tv. We don’t have the internet connected so its only on our mobile phones and we gave no plans of changing that. When we do let him have a phone when he starts going to school on his own one day, it will only be for calls or texts so we can find him if we need to. He will need to prove he can be open and responsible with this stuff before he can go anywhere near it. I was bullied before the internet and I know how awful that was. I refuse to take the risk of having him bullied or be a bully because I think “its just a smartphone”.

Social media is becoming too much, really. I don’t like the way some kids present themselves. The way they post selfies all the time, the need for approval. There is something wrong there. My daughter is 15 and doesn’t have a social media account. I’m glad she doesn’t even want it.