ALAMEDA, CA — It’s no secret to concerned parents that social media exposes kids to cyber bullying. You already know about Instagram and Snapchat, but what other apps should raise alarms for parents?
To mark “National Stop Bullying Day” on the second Wednesday in October, the Alameda Police Department released a list of apps that parents should monitor because they “can potentially expose children to inappropriate content, create a space for bullying/harassment, or can introduce children/teens to strangers.”
Police highlighted these trending apps and encouraged parents to actively monitor their children’s activity: live.me; whatsapp, notepad vault, meetme, kik, yolo, tik tok, whisper and discord. Here’s why police say you should monitor each of these apps —
Alameda Police recommend the following tips to parents:
Approve every app on your child’s phoneStay educated on popular apps for teensEstablish strong privacy settings within each appTalk with children about appropriate phone, app, and social media usageEncourage your children not to share personal informationHave your child hand over their devices each night at a predetermined time Remind your children once “send” is clicked there is no undo button
Michael Rubino, a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in Contra Costa County, explained in a Patch article earlier this month how kids are driven to the point of suicide. “It doesn’t stop with social media. They receive emails and texts on a constant basis and these emails and texts are sent to other students, too. In my opinion, this bullying is very vicious and emotionally exhausting. The person being bullied never gets a break from the bullying. Because they never get a break they have difficulties dealing with their emotions and their thoughts about themselves get twisted. They are so embarrassed about be bullied that they are ashamed to tell their parents. They feel they must have done something to deserve the bullying. Therefore, they tend not to tell their parents because they do not want to disappoint their parents.”
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Are you still uneasy with how to handle the issue of social media with your kids? Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Rochelle Whitson of Riverside County encourages parents to look beyond lists of helpful tips and assess their own child’s maturity. She wrote on Patch,”When deciding what to allow, I think a parent needs to ask themselves about the emotional maturity of the teen, about how they are handling issues like peer pressure and fitting in with peers. About how they are handling the responsibilities in their lives (their grades, their outside activities, doing chores, following rules at home and at school). The truth is, if any of these issues are needing some improvement, social media is likely to exacerbate whatever problems are already present.”
Whitson advises parents to have their children’s passwords, check their child’s accounts regularly, and know what is going on in their lives.
Related:
Cyber Bullying Can And Does KillBullying and Social Media; Part 2
As part of a national reporting project, Patch has been looking at society’s roles and responsibilities in bullying and a child’s unthinkable decision to end their own life in hopes we might offer solutions that save lives.