Maybe kids don't need social media at all? What do you think?

I saw this reel from Gabb, and it made me think about whether parents could actually band together and stop giving their kids social media.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DQNIf8_jubf/

I'm not a mom yet, but I already dread the battle with screens. I don't think "everyone has it" is compelling enough for me to give my kids social media, but I do worry that I'll feel bad for leaving my kid out of something everyone else is doing.

Do you think parents could realistically change the way social media is being used by teens? I hope so, at least by the time I have kids asking for it.

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Comments

BrandonJeppson

Honestly, sometimes I wonder if any of us need social media. Maybe we all need to be a bit more choosy with what we log on to each day.

But as far as kids go, I really don't think they should be on social media especially after the US Surgeon General's warning about it being a real problem for kids under the age of 15 or 16. On top of that I just think there are a lot of other skills and habits that kids need to learn before they can safely interact on social media and arguably they need to be more mature as well because there are just so many people that want to take advantage of others through social media.

My final thought is kids are still learning how to behave in the real world, that's hard enough let alone learning how to behave in a virtual world where even adults don't really know what the rules are because things are constantly evolving.

Pam

I recently saw a news report about a 10 year old girl that unfortunately was bullied at school and the bullying followed her home through social media. Her mom mentioned that the thing she regretted the most was giving her an iPhone. That she was the brightest little girl, always had a smile on her face but her parents just didn't know what she was going through. I have a 10 year old boy, this is my biggest nightmare and I believe a lot more parents can resonate with this. We all want a safe environment for our children and social media causes more disconnect than connect. Children need to be away from it as long as possible. Even as adults we become victims of social media, the endless scrolls at night, comparing our parenting with others, comparing our bodies to others. I can't imagine the issues that a small child with an unsafe phone goes through. With the unlimited access to content that their little fresh new brains process. It's also a conversation I've had with my husband, we will not allow access to social media many years to come.

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