Snapchat question (1 Viewer)

[General Malaise]

The good news is that at the current rate the company is going, you might be able to just buy SNAP and then kill it so your kid can't use it.  

Stock price also disappears?

 

[General Malaise]

FTR, I allow both of my teen boys to have snapchat.  At first, I said no it wasn't allowed.  They need to just use texts to communicate with their friends, since I had to be aware of their conversations.  It didn't take long for them to learn how to delete texts, so that didn't make any sense.

I agree with what I think Angry Beavers said previously, at some point you have to trust the upbringing you have provided to your kids.  I have given them both the child porn scare story, and let them know they are responsible for any content they send or receive (don't send anything stupid, alert me if you receive something innapropriate).  I'm not certain they would tell me if someone sent them a nudie, but the best I try to provide open lines of communication.

They both are in high school now, and have my trust until I am proven wrong to let them have it.  I haven't been burned yet.  Hopefully in the age of permanent records of their social history, they make better choices than I did.

Yup, you don't own your kids.  Best you can do is arm them with enough honest and forthright communication along with a steadfast promise to always be there to listen and help and hope they make more good decisions than bad and don't blow themselves up along the way.  18 will be here by the time you blink and you better damn well hope you did your best to prepare them.  I'd rather they have social media training when they flee the nest than enter the world completely green.  

 

[NutterButter]

The are all kids of highly successful, intelligent, successful people of the best stock.  Why wouldn't they be smart and responsible kids?

I thought those were typically part of the screw ups.   You know, not enough attention from daddy b/c he's too busy ruling the world.   

 

[Bull Dozier]

Yup, you don't own your kids.  Best you can do is arm them with enough honest and forthright communication along with a steadfast promise to always be there to listen and help and hope they make more good decisions than bad and don't blow themselves up along the way.  18 will be here by the time you blink and you better damn well hope you did your best to prepare them.  I'd rather they have social media training when they flee the nest than enter the world completely green.  

I freaked out for 15 years about the behavior of my step daughter.  I thought she was in the trap of divorced parents, both of which tended to be "too lenient" so they could be the good parent.  I tried to be the hard ### (not the step parents job, I realized too late) and had super high expectations.  She's now a junior in college, set to graduate a semester early, with hardly any debt.  While one reading of the situation is that she turned out so great thanks to my overbearance, but that would be a ridiculous take.  Obviously she was a great kid and I should have been more aware of that fact along the way.  It has taught me that lesson for my boys, and I am grateful for that.

 

[Spin]

Just here to state that this topic scares the ##### out of me, considering I have a 5 and 3 y/o, who can already operate a phone better than most people.  My parents were very 'hands-off', when it came to the topic of sex and responsibility.  I guess they assumed taking me to church 3 times a week would be enough, and honestly, in high school, it was.  I was a complete straight shooter, no drinking, drugs, sex, etc.  I didn't really go crazy in college, but I definitely experimented with drinking/sex.  I wonder if they had embraced the topic earlier if it would change, but honestly, I doubt it.  I'm young by the boards' standards, so I know times have changed from most people's upbringings, but I had my own phone at 15 (of course, I had to pay for it).  But I really think, that you are who you are.  People that want to go crazy, will, regardless of what their parents do.  And those of us that are more meek and tame, will be so.  That being said, in high school, I was the one showing my friends boobsville.com in the library as I bypassed the 'restriction' filter in the library.

I'm a complete tech nerd, and know I can lock down just about any device as I see fit, or monitor usage, etc, but who knows how my kids will react, and if it will ultimately be for the better.  I am firmly in the camp that the porn industry is a damaging industry, that perpetuates ridiculous body image thoughts and sex roles, and fuels the sex trade industry, and thus, choose not to consume it for my self.  It really is damaging.  But I also struggle with letting my kids (some day) make that choice for themselves.  

For the record, SnapChat and porn are completely different.  Seeing a kid naked that you see in class every day, because she trusted someone with a photo, are completely different than a complete stranger doing ridiculous acts.  More apps should do a better job of locking down minor viewers, but good luck enforcing that.  

Anyhow, I know I'm rambling, but I absolutely am one nervous father as my kids grow up, and wondering the "right" way to approach this topic, so keep the discussion going. Maybe I'll learn something.

 

[[icon]]

A 13 year old sneaking convos with a girl???!?!?! THE HORROR!!!!

Should make sure he wants to talk to boys only, instead, IMO. 

 

[NeverEnough]

Look, we were all stupid teens too and most of us survived just fine.  We didn't have records of our stupid chats either.  They disappeared the minute we hung up the phone or went home.  

Trust was broken, that's a concern, but we need to dial back this rhetoric that teens are going to ruin themselves because of social media apps.  Plenty of adults using them who are just as stupud.

I think back to things we did as teens and it gives me chills.  And yet, here I am.

This

 

[trident]

My son is 13 and wants Snapchat as well.  We say no as well.

Since he broke your trust, you should delete the account and take his phone away for a month.

 

[EYLive]

IMO, there's no good reason a kid/tween should have snapchat. It can't do anything Instagram and a basic texting app can't do.