Social Media and Kids

What age is appropriate for a kid to have a social media account? A few years back– during my time it wasn’t something kids really had and if they did their parents got the raised eyebrow look. Now, since we’re in a society where kids act like adults it’s somewhat more acceptable.

Acceptable for that era, but still a bit questionable for the older folks. I’m not old, but I still think there needs to be boundaries. Heck, kids shouldn’t be spending all. their time on social media or computers for too long.

When I was that age I was outside being active, playing games in my house, riding bikes, rollerblading, using my imagination to make anything fun, and playing with other kids. Now kids are always on their phones, Xbox or computers– there’s no face to face contact with people.

Whatever happened to that?

Times have undoubtedly changed throughout the years. I recall the MySpace and Facebook days. I loved how Facebook was for college students. No more dealing with little kids irritating others, countless photos of stupidity, and so on. It was for a mature audience. That was until of course Facebook lowered the age to join down to 13 years old. And that didn’t stop the under 13 kids from joining by lying about their age.

At first it wasn’t too bad and that’s only because it was still growing and people were still stuck on MySpace.

Once word of mouth got out the losers came on board and ruined it for everyone. There’s been pedophiles, rapist, and weirdos who have used social media to their advantage.

When you think about it in that sense kids should not be on social media. Kids are very susceptible to getting caught up in unimaginable things– like falling victim to a predator. You can set all these limits and there will still be ways around it. Your kid may only be 12, but they’re way smarter than you think.

You can teach them all the ways to be safe and you can “trust” your kid, but that can only go so far. Their still very young minded and don’t think anything can happen to them.

It’s even stupider when a child has an Instagram or Facebook without even having asked for it. Parents just do it because they want to share their kids photos with everyone. Okay– that’s why you as the parent have an account! And I had clients back in foster care that did this for their kids, so I know it happens.

And what’s worse? Lets see— a BABY having a social media account. I know times haven’t changed that drastically that it’s acceptable for a baby to have an account.

Or is it?

Computers, Internet and social media is the era we’re in and it’s just going to keep growing. Kids need to learn how to function in this digital world, but at 12-years-old or a 3-month-old doesn’t need to have a Facebook or Instagram and see half-naked people.

What are your thoughts on kids having social media accounts?