When I first jumped on the social media train, I was the last of my friend group. My mom, like many others, didn't trust the idea of a social networking platform. She feared for my safety if I chose to share my daily practices with the rest of the world. Her fears were never realized, but the reality was much worse.
"What if someone breaks in?"
She always asked me what good I thought could come of informing my friends/followers that I was out of town. It allowed the opportunity for a home break-in, but that never happened. Instead, my spirit was broken. I have been targeted by a cyberbully/DJ, who had a sizable following. When I was in high school, I disagreed with a comment he made on Facebook. He then posted my number on his status and I received 900 text messages that night from people calling me obscenities and tarnishing my emotional stability for weeks. I've fallen prey to many social vultures and parasites, since. Have I remained broken? No, but I was better off without the memories.
"Don't talk to strangers on the Internet. You might get kidnapped."
On the contrary, I have many close friends I met through band hashtags, TV fandoms and the like. However, I've been cat-fished by those I respected. I've been sent friend requests for the purpose of pissing off some guy's poor wife, who legitimately believed he was cheating on her with every female he'd ever met. Entire groups of women have been turned against me for who I date because one person took my posts and manipulated them to her will. I've discovered that seemingly pleasant people have multiple sides to their belief system, and I almost couldn't take the reality of their true selves.
"Don't you dare send nude pictures to a boy."
Roger that, mom. But what was I supposed to do when a stranger added me on Snapchat and spammed my feed with inappropriate pictures and hook up requests? I blocked him, don't worry. There was just no way of knowing who was sending me what until it was happening. What are school teachers supposed to do when sixth graders have pictures taken of them in the locker room at school, and sent to all their classmates? There are no safety measures that can prevent an evil person from committing evil acts, no matter the medium.
"Don't you keep up with your friends enough in school?"
Oh, yes. There are plenty of people I should never have added on social media because it only put a strain on our friendship. We simply spent too much time together — virtually and in person. There's a study conducted by Dr. Hanna Krasnova that proves people are dissatisfied because of what they see on social media. The "envy spiral" of watching friends seem endlessly happy and perfect damaged my self-confidence (temporarily). I had to learn the hard way to separate myself from virtual reality to understand the distinction between fact and fiction.
"The Internet is only meant to be used as a wealth of knowledge."
I've seen too much, read too much and found out that a child the age of 10 years old can learn anything he wants to about the reproductive system without an adult's help. Are we really helping or hurting by allowing teenagers on social media, when they are hardly mature enough control their search terms?
"You spend so much time on Facebook. Your health will decline."
Physical health is so the least of our problems right now. How about the 43% of middle school teens that have reported being cyber-bullied? Consider the stories of those who have committed suicide because of cyber-bullying before they ever reach college. Realize that while many teens are being told, "It gets better," every day, nothing is changing, except their outlook on life and their potential for resorting to the alternative.
Social media can be a great thing. It helps us stay close to those who are halfway across the world. It provides an outlet for expression and a database for some delicious recipes. There are benefits that make social media worth having. However, this is a cry for parents to restrict their children's usage of social media. I know, it's hard to tell them they can't do something most kids their age are doing. I know, they will come home feeling left out. I've been there, too. It's extremely important you weigh the pros and cons regarding their mental health and maturity for such a challenging service. And to you other readers, be kind to one another. You lose nothing in doing so. The stakes are too high to ignore this issue.
