Parents need to be vigilant with kids’ use of social media

"Girls, get outside!”

This is what my mom used to say to me and my sisters when we were young as she was trying to clean the house, do laundry or work on choreography.

We rode our bikes and skated until our little legs couldn’t go anymore in the New Orleans heat. If we were lucky, Brandy’s mom would let us go swimming in their pool. My mom felt like a broken record telling us to turn off the TV and get outside, and we feel like broken records today telling our kids to unplug and go play.

One of my friends came to a startling discovery at the end of this summer about her 12-year-old daughter. Because of the torrential rains or sweltering heat this summer, her daughter was allowed more time on her iPad than usual.

Though she has always told her children that she and their dad can and will check their iPads and phones at random, she hadn’t done it in a while.

When she checked her daughter’s iPad to see how much storage she had, since school was about to begin, she was horrified to find things her daughter was saying and being told in text messages and on other social media apps. There were messages from people she had never heard of, including someone her daughter met while gaming who was at least six years older than she was. Their daughter’s gaming device is in their den in plain sight, but she wears headphones so that the game noises don’t disturb the whole family.

I am telling you this so that you can see that her parents thought they were doing everything that internet safety experts tell us to do.

My friend and her husband are not what you would think of when you think of parents who “neglect” their kids. They are involved with their children, they play games together, watch movies as a family and have almost nightly family dinners at their dining room table.

It really made me pause and realize that I am being neglectful when I allow my kids too much time on their electronics. I am allowing the secular messages on social media, and possibly dangerous strangers, to influence and shape my children with values that are likely not in line with mine and my husband’s.

It was an eye-opening moment and, in discussion with other moms, we all realized how common and scary this type of thing is.

If you search the words “not my kid” on the internet, sadly, you will see many books written about things no parent thought “their kid” was doing, like drugs, drinking, sex and self-harm. These social media platforms introduce children to concepts in such subtle, alluring ways that they can’t help but be intrigued.

Using the Lord’s name in vain is rampant, as well, which just makes it seem more and more socially acceptable to hear people say, “Oh my God!” or “Jesus Christ!” when they are not doing anything close to praying.

I am certainly not saying that technology is all bad. It has its benefits and can make learning really exciting. After all, what would we have done without Zoom and virtual communication during quarantine?

However, let’s all take time regularly to see what our kids are doing and with whom they are spending time online.

Do you have tips you have learned that may help even one other family with this issue? Please share it with us at [email protected]. Then turn off your computer and get outside!

Stacy Glynn LaMorte is a wife and mother of three children. She is a work-from-home mom who is an in-home personal trainer, aspiring author and part-time bookkeeper. She loves being with her family, their dog, traveling, exercising, reading, photography and outdoor gardening.