Whether we want to admit it or not, bullying is sadly part of the human condition. Sadly, with the world of social media, bullying in schools is at an all-time high. It’s easy to be brave and calculated behind a screen. It’s not like in my day when kids met outside to fight each other and then it was over with. While any kind of fighting is terrible, adding the elements of social media; which include Snapchat, private Instagram’s or Twitter, where a specific person is targeted to the masses. The abuse runs deep and it’s incredibly dangerous.
As a parent whose child is either the culprit or perpetrator, it’s a very hard thing to try and navigate through. Once the send button gets hit, there is no remedy for the hurt it may cause. The only way to help curb potential hurt is to limit social media, period. I do it in my home, and I’m met with enormous resistance, but it’s non-negotiable. I will do whatever I can to mitigate my child from the temptation of engaging in any harmful exchanges while they are young, impressionable and tender.
While I know that Snapchat has become the way that kids communicate with one another, it is an incredibly misleading and polarizing way to engage. Since this is the way of our kids’ generation, the only remedy we have is to limit the addiction and most importantly, encourage communication that is clear and honest at home.
We are ultimately all here in this world to connect. The only way to truly do so heart to heart, face to face and soul to soul. It is becoming a lost art, and the repercussions are mighty.
Health starts at home and by example. If you preach it, it falls on deaf ears, if you live it, your children will follow suit. I’m hopeful that my generation can infuse the new one with the basics.
