Also, has anyone tried to tell a kid not to do something? It doesn’t work lol. What kinda childhood did y’all have? Cause I very distinctly remember how kids were constantly getting around my school’s filters. I remember how many people got stuff like alcohol and tobacco from their friends. Every kid figured out how to watch porn from an early age, too, despite the fact that all these arguments against social media apply to porn (and arguably porn is worse for people simply because of the unrealistic and unhealthy expectations it sets).
I’m not saying don’t have rules just because your kids will break them. But accessing social media is such a hilariously easy rule to break. And kids won’t respect you if they disagree strongly with your rules. Setting a “no alcohol” rule is socially acceptable, but a “no social media” rule is just gonna breed rebellion. Unlike alcohol, they’re gonna be exposed to it every day through their friends. Their friends will send them links in chats. They will find ways around your rules and they’ll resent you for them.
At best, you can just delay how long before kids get exposed to social media and how long before they figure out how to get around your rules. But the last one won’t take long. My parents had stupid rules surrounding the internet and I learned fast how to get around them.
The much better approach is to talk to your kids. Teach them the dangers. Build a good rapport with them so that they trust you and will talk to you if they’re being bullied or the likes. If you just ban something, your kids are gonna use it anyway but without any knowledge of the dangers and they will not come to you if something goes wrong. This is the exact same issue that comes up with alcohol and sex. It’s not a new problem. Just a new thing being banned by a new generation.
Also, has anyone tried to tell a kid not to do something? It doesn’t work lol. What kinda childhood did y’all have? Cause I very distinctly remember how kids were constantly getting around my school’s filters. I remember how many people got stuff like alcohol and tobacco from their friends. Every kid figured out how to watch porn from an early age, too, despite the fact that all these arguments against social media apply to porn (and arguably porn is worse for people simply because of the unrealistic and unhealthy expectations it sets).
I’m not saying don’t have rules just because your kids will break them. But accessing social media is such a hilariously easy rule to break. And kids won’t respect you if they disagree strongly with your rules. Setting a “no alcohol” rule is socially acceptable, but a “no social media” rule is just gonna breed rebellion. Unlike alcohol, they’re gonna be exposed to it every day through their friends. Their friends will send them links in chats. They will find ways around your rules and they’ll resent you for them.
At best, you can just delay how long before kids get exposed to social media and how long before they figure out how to get around your rules. But the last one won’t take long. My parents had stupid rules surrounding the internet and I learned fast how to get around them.
The much better approach is to talk to your kids. Teach them the dangers. Build a good rapport with them so that they trust you and will talk to you if they’re being bullied or the likes. If you just ban something, your kids are gonna use it anyway but without any knowledge of the dangers and they will not come to you if something goes wrong. This is the exact same issue that comes up with alcohol and sex. It’s not a new problem. Just a new thing being banned by a new generation.