Should Parents be on Social Media?

With the passage of time, children grow older, wiser and more independent. It would be wise for parents to give some space to their children in order to give them some room to grow and expand their minds and views. Even though parents are responsible for their children, they should let their children make some decisions and walk into the world on their own as well.

It was advised to parents:

“Even the good kids falter. They get sucked in by peer pressure and think that they can handle it, but they cannot. It is our job as parents to make sure they are safe and protected, especially online!”

source

Modern World:

In the modern world ruled by media, social media is growing bigger and better and its platform is stronger than ever. People are connected with each other from all over the world. Everyone has an access to social media nowadays, it is on our smart phones, and our computers as well. It has an influence on our lives more then we expect it to. It has attracted people of all ages towards it, especially the youth. Which has its own pros and cons.

Stalking your Kids:

Children being on social sites is common, but the question arises whether or not their parents should also be on the platform. Parents on social media tend to stalk their children, closely watching who they talk to and what they post. The fear they have in their hearts for their children is entirely sincere. But for their child it is embarrassing for their parents to be on their friends list.

As Susan Orleans says:

“Human relationships used to be easy: you had friends, boy- or girlfriends, parents, children, and landlords. Now thanks to social media, it’s all gone sideways”.

Avoid Invading Privacy:

It would be wise to consult with their children before ending up on their friends list. Some kids get mocked by their friends every time their parents post their childhood pictures. Children also have their identities that they keep to themselves and those that they show to others. Parents should respect their privacy. Before they start commenting on their pictures and scolding them in front of their friends they should discuss the matter privately with them.

source

Keep Careful Watch:

Parents should be on social media considering how the world has fallen into destruction. It is easy to manipulate the youth, and that is probably what the corrupt people are trying to achieve. Parents should keep an eye on the sites that their children visit. Even the games these days promote violence and utterly shameful scenes, if not approached with caution, children might end up falling into the dark world.

Guide the Kids:

Even though a child can learn many things on the cyber platform but if the parents just silently watch behind him then the child might even be properly guided to the right path. Knowing that his parents would see him if he did anything wrong, the child keeps away from prohibited content. He becomes safe from the traps that lay behind every anonymous chat box.

source

Conclusion:

In the end, parents and children should be on good terms with each other. If the child trusts his parents then he would be glad to have them as friends on social media. But if the parents are picky and they cannot deepen their relationship then there is a high chance for their child to fall into the wrong hands. So it is the parents’ duty, to help, to guide and to support their children and protect them from the cold cruel world outside.

A wise man once advised the youth who were embarrassed of their parents:

“I guess our parents stayed together simply because they did not have 100’s of people following them at their disposal when their relationship/marriage got hard. Nowadays, when our relationship gets hard, we can just log on and get high off of this false sense of security, appreciation and understanding. We value our worth based on followers, comments and inbox messages filled with colorful words that have no depth. Meanwhile, the people who care about you when there is no filter on your face become an option, and attractively filtered followers with hollow words become a priority. Do not lose what is real, chasing what only appears to be.”