I think phones are a bigger issue than social media so in my house, no phones until junior year.

Is roblox social media?

This is for such a tragic reason, but our teen daughters just deleted their social media accounts. One went to school with a girl who died “subway surfing” last weekend, and our kid says that TikTok played a large role.

She said that the kids in the class knew the girl was doing dangerous things on the subway because many of them had liked or commented on social media. But no one “tattled” on the little girl. Now the kids in her class are devastated, and are crying about how the quest for social media likes killed their classmate, and deleting their accounts.

Their 8th grade-level interpretation that social media killed their classmate is obviously an oversimplification, but hopefully some good can come from this tragic situation.

Anonymous wrote:I told my 13 year old daughter that she is not allowed to have a social media account until she is 16. She doesn’t have a phone yet (waiting untill age 14).

I can enforce the no phone rule easily by not buying her a phone, but how do I enforce the no social media when she has access to computers and can make a TikTok or Ig account anytime?

Good luck.
Fyi, good news maybe?: time spent on social media peaked in 2022 and has since gone into steady decline

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was like you. But I saw my 14 year old suffering because was not in the social mix as he didn’t know what was happening. Not being on snap meant he was not included in the spontaneous gatherings. So I allowed it, with a bit of moderation and solid rules around the phone in general. Then he began enjoying his social life in person with friends. I don’t like snap. But it was a trade off. Fairly sure it was the right call.

Rigid thinking in parenting rarely pays off when the situation requires a more nuanced view. Our relationship with each other, and his relationship with his phone, are both reasonably healthy as a result.

This is so effed. Why are parents so weak and kids lack character now? If people actually like your kid they will text.

+1. “Suffering” “because they don’t have Snap” is one of the top ten most idiotic statements I’ve ever seen on DCUM, and that’s saying something.

Anonymous wrote:Parents need to be more concerned about social media use and unsafe tech in teens. These parents who say “it’s fine” are ignorant to the tons of research showing the devastating harms of social media to teens mental health, social skills, and cognitive functioning.

Parents can control screens more at home and on parent issued devices. School issued devices within FCPS have terrible tech controls. Students know how to access social media and banned sites on school computers. They use proxy servers. FCPS filters and tech controls are very poor quality. More money and effort should be spent on tech safety and appropriate tech use. Kids also use school Gmail, Google docs, and slides to cyberbully, send nudes, sextortion, and more.

Hold off on social media as long as possible. Snapchat and TikTok are the worst. Surveillance software like BARK can connect to social media accounts on Samsungs. Follow the podcast and Instagram accounts “scrolling2Death” which focuses on tech safety.

So, how does banning SM in any way reduce the likelihood of bullying or sexting or anything else really, when the kids can still text each other? That makes no sense to me.

Parents need to be more concerned about social media use and unsafe tech in teens. These parents who say “it’s fine” are ignorant to the tons of research showing the devastating harms of social media to teens mental health, social skills, and cognitive functioning.

Parents can control screens more at home and on parent issued devices. School issued devices within FCPS have terrible tech controls. Students know how to access social media and banned sites on school computers. They use proxy servers. FCPS filters and tech controls are very poor quality. More money and effort should be spent on tech safety and appropriate tech use. Kids also use school Gmail, Google docs, and slides to cyberbully, send nudes, sextortion, and more.

Hold off on social media as long as possible. Snapchat and TikTok are the worst. Surveillance software like BARK can connect to social media accounts on Samsungs. Follow the podcast and Instagram accounts “scrolling2Death” which focuses on tech safety.

Anonymous wrote:I told my 13 year old daughter that she is not allowed to have a social media account until she is 16. She doesn’t have a phone yet (waiting untill age 14).

I can enforce the no phone rule easily by not buying her a phone, but how do I enforce the no social media when she has access to computers and can make a TikTok or Ig account anytime?

You can block it on their screen time settings and also you can buy a device you set up to your home WiFi and then a vpn fiction in the phone you want to block certain apps or categories. I use “Circle” it has worked well. My child might open an account on a friend’s phone or the like but has zero access on her phone(no matter where she is), and no access to SM on any device in our home. I set it up so it is impossible to remove the circle app on her phone so there is no way for her to get around the setting like some kids find ways with screen time. Good luck. Worth the hassle to protect her brain and wellbeing. My daughter is 15 and she doesn’t mind it. She does have Snapchat only on the phone but it locks after a certain amount of use. No mindless scrolling. Also the phone is never allowed on her bedroom. It helps to set the rules from the start but even though I reeled back her use she is happy to not have constant access and has mentioned how she sees some friends who don’t even watch a complete movie because they aren’t used to sitting and not scrolling at home as a way to relax.

Anonymous wrote:Find a social group where other parents feel the way you do.

You can hang around parents that feel the way you do but your teens will choose their own friends.

I know this is extreme, but the web browser is blocked on my 14 yo’s phone (after addictive YouTube watching - I should’ve blocked it sooner). Apps come to me for approval. It hasn’t been a big and helped the situation.

Perfect system? No, but it definitely helps and was honestly a relief for my kid.

Anonymous wrote:Social media is here to stay.

The trick is to teach your children how to use it.

Once they go off to college or move out from your house they need experience understanding the good, bad & ugly.

That all said you own their phones until they start paying for them. However, taking away their phones for them not doing chores or some other thing that has nothing to do with social media is bad parenting. I also think if a kid has a phone I would check it periodically, it is not a diary.

Kids need to understand there is a time and place for phones and social media.

So is cocaine.