Caroline Udall, 44, is
married to Nick, 48, and
has children Kaia, 15,
Zen, 12, and rin, three.
Social media and creating
an online presence are all
an integral part of growing
up in a digital generation.
Kaia and Zen have grown
up around screens like
cellphones and tablets. That’s their ‘normal’, and they don’t
know anything different.
They began using social media when they were around
six years old and they started off by playing interactive,
child-appropriate games such as Club Penguin and Moshi
Monsters. They could play against other children and chat
to them, too.
In order for our children to remain tech savvy in an
increasingly digital environment, we need to allow them
to explore the world of social media. That’s why, now that
they are a little bit older, I allow my children to use platforms
like Instagram, Snapchat and WhatsApp – despite the fact
that Zen doesn’t meet the minimum age requirement.
I think it’s a great way for them to keep in touch with their
friends – practically all their classmates use those social
media platforms, so they’d be one of
the only kids in their peer group who
is banned from them. There are rules
in our house, though. We regularly
check the privacy settings on their
accounts and make sure they’re not
on social media during dinner or at
bedtime – and we simply don’t tolerate
inappropriate behaviour.
Last year, Zen had his phone
confiscated for a few weeks when
I discovered he'd been swearing in a WhatsApp message and
he learnt an important lesson from that. Like it or not, social
media is here to stay and stopping our children from using it
will only harm them in the long run.Li f e To day | debate
feature
Sarah Finley; Claire Dunwell
p hotography
ti-mediacontent.com
Claire dunwell, 40, is
married to ian, 53, and
has two sons Sam, 11,
and Louie, eight.
Call me old fashioned,
but I’d love to take my
children back to a time
before Twitter hashtags
and Instagram likes.
It was a special time
when kids could grow up simply being kids.
Social media piles enormous pressure on today’s
youngsters – they can no longer clock
off at the end of a school day because
social media sparks FOMO (fear of
missing out). It's sad that popularity
these days is judged by virtual ‘likes’
and my heart goes out to those who
only have a few online friends. I do
believe social media is a breeding
ground for bullying, and that’s why
I have banned my son Sam from
Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
He was 11 when he started pestering me into opening
an Instagram account in his name. He’s always been a
very sensible kid, so I saw no harm in letting him share
innocent snaps with friends whose accounts I’d thoroughly
vetted beforehand. Until he made a harmless remark on
a stranger’s photo and in came a barrage of abuse and
expletives that would have been inappropriate directed
at an adult, never mind a pre-teen.
That’s when I called time on all social media and
deleted his accounts – and Sam didn’t argue when
I explained why. I think the incident gave him a bit of
a fright and I'm glad he’ll likely be more cautious going
forward. He starts high school next year and will be old
enough to sign up for social media platforms himself but,
for now, it’s my job as a parent to keep him and his younger
brother Louie happy and safe until I’m sure they’re mature
enough to handle whatever social media throws at them.Should you ban kids
An extraordinary number of 12 year olds (and even younger) are
already on Facebook and Twitter despite the age requirement
being 13. But is it a necessary evil or a breeding ground for bullying?
from social media?
‘Social media
piles huge
pressure on
today ’s
youngsters’
‘Banning kids
from social
media will
do more harm
than good’