This post has been stuck in my head for a few days now.
The other day I was reading through my blog roll when I read a post by Nicole at Planning with Kids called Teens and Social Media.
I watched the you tube clip, I read her post, and I thought about it and thought about it. I'm a long way off having to worry about this, but it worries my nonetheless.
As I watched the clip, I not only thought about the fact that everyone has Facebook, Blogs, You tube, etc to me what really struck a cord was the capturing of life in the first place.
What I mean by this is, when I was a teenager, some of us had cameras, but we didn't take them every where we went. We might take them with us once every now and then. I have photos of special occasions, that's about it.
But now, teenagers are taking photos of everything, and that is no exaggeration. Photos of themselves most days, posing, some poses, questionable. Might seem like a bit of cheeky fun now, but in 10 years time? And given that everyone has smart phones these days, everyone has a camera / video on them at all times, and they are not afraid to use it.
I think I turned out OK, but I was one of those teenagers. I lived in the country and I did go out and experiment with underage drinking, I have lived those scenes in that clip drinking, having fun and I have finished up by the side of the toilet before! But no one was there with a camera to record every minute of it.
I cringe to think. I was young, I was foolish, but I'd hate to think that others would capture that and then circulate it online. I wouldn't want to be judged as an adult, as a mother, by my actions as a teenager. But this is the potential for kids these days.
And I mentioned earlier, that I don't need to worry about this right now, but I still feel sad for the kids that get caught up in these situations now, and it makes me feel sick to imagine what else we will have to deal with in another 10 years time.
Anyway, I was really moved by the clip and Nicole's post and felt compelled to share it. You can read her post here and watch the clip below.
Regards
Mandy
Hi Mandy, great post. My kids are similar in ages to yours and this is something I worry a lot about too. I'm just trying to keep my kids away from electronic media for as long as I can and teaching them to be individuals. I guess we'll cross those bridges when we get to them. It's very worrying, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteAnne xx
I think about this stuff a fair bit, I wonder how we will handle this when my kids get to 'that age', whenever that age may be. I am just glad that I have bloggers like Nic and others who have kids a little older, and who are brave enough to tackle these issues and share online...
ReplyDeleteIt's a huge shift in the way society functions - and I too feel really sorry for the generation who are bearing the brunt of it - our current teemagers.
ReplyDeleteMan, I am more than grateful that there were no cameras in my darkest/wildest/funniest hours of transitioning from stupid adolescent to stupid adult.
These kids don't have the luxury of making mistakes and moving on with a relatively controlled circle of shame.
Hopefully, we will educate our younger ones to live within this tech savvy generation - so that youtube doesn't have the capacity to ruin their life forever.
I heard a really interesting stat the other day about the rise in name changing by deed poll that will occur in the next 50 years - people trying to outrun their tarnished reputations.
It's a minefield!!!
:-)
Great post Mandy. My own kid's are too young for social media, but as a high school teacher social media causes so many issues for students because they can document every moment of their life and publish anything without thinking through the consequences of their actions. Part of the issue is that most kids really do not have a great understanding of how technology can be used. They are often naive in what they say/write/do.
ReplyDeleteMany teachers do not understand social media well enough to be able to guide the kids in how to use it responsibly, and my experience says that most parents really have no clue about what their kids are up to online until trouble really happens!
As a result, all the drama's of being a teenager (which every generation has had) are now played out in a public and permanent arena. Instead of writing on the back of toilet doors, they post to facebook.
I think the answer is as parents to be educated and involved in social media, to ensure your children are well educated on the issues associated with misuse of social media, and to monitor your child's internet/phone usage.
(Wow that was a long comment. I will now get off my high horse and take a deep breath ;) )
what a great video! very real. thank god im no longer in high school. my boys are all under the age of 8 but one day I will have to worry about this stuff. Im thankful I don't have girls....they are so much harder to protect.
ReplyDeleteI certainly agree. Social media has an extent and that itself is not the base formula for social media success.
ReplyDelete