Cyberbully

We are currently going through the "switch" moment (11-13) where our daughter is transitioning from a Sweet Princess who was once thoughtful, loving and considerate to.... Well…. someone else entirely, we still love this stranger but it's taking some time to adjust =). I hear that we could get our sweet loving person back anywhere from age 16 to 21 but wow that's a loooong time to wait. Sigh…. That’s life.. So…. SNAPCHAT REVIEW! When we noticed that our daughter was becoming active online and getting more of an attitude with everyone we started looking into her activity online and I have to say that I am so glad we did. She was cursing, getting sexual post tags from her 11 year old friends, saying sexual things to teenage YouTube heart throbs which she was instructed by them to do via a request to the masses of obsessed girls (she didn’t know it but it was really bad) …. The list goes on, she wasn't doing drugs or getting sexual thankfully but it was a path that she could go down. So we intervened and we continue to do so. I am not saying we examine every single post or message but a glance here and there doesn’t hurt and in our case it was a wakeup call. OK, so that was Twitter, YouTube and Instagram activity. Why do I mention this? What's the point man!? I'm glad you asked! It's because those were all social media sites and messages that we could monitor if we chose to and act accordingly. THAT IS NOT THE CASE WITH SNAPCHAT! POOF EVERY MESSAGE VANISHES IN SECONDS AFTER IT HAS BEEN LOOKED AT! Snapchat messages photos, videos, and text messages disappear after 5 to 10 seconds by default! It takes away a parents ability to insure that their child isn't making the wrong choices online and gives a child 100% privacy and freedom to say whatever he/she wants, take a picture or video of whatever he/she wants TO whoever he/she wants and vice versa. And YOU as a parent will never know if what is being sent is good, silly, bad or horrible. You won't know if they are sexting or getting bullied…. I think you get the picture here. And before you say no way not my kid! Think twice! We thought the same about our Precious Daughter! When we have talked to other parents that have discovered what their precious innocent child was doing online they were all very shocked… They didn’t think it would happen to them either! We were young once too but the margin for error has increased 10,000 fold and extends to the entire world! Not just the kids on your neighborhood block. Protect your kids. Don’t give into these social media trends. Just because all of their friends have it doesn’t mean we as parents have to say YES! We are allowed to say No! I am not saying we examine every single post but a glance here and there doesn’t hurt and in our case it was a wakeup call. I know a 15 to 16 year old teenager who shared a nude with her boyfriend that he could have shared with the whole school and online ahem… aka the world. And I have to say I would never think this girl would ever do something so dumb… Trust is something that is earned and something you can never verify with an app like Snapchat. So Snapchat is not something I will trust in the hands of my teenager. Has our daughter done anything horrible on Snapchat? I honestly have a hard time believing she ever would, but I will never know and that’s my point…..

I think it was a really good movie. It gave off great examples of cyber-bulling and what was done after words of it. From the beginning to the very end. I've been bullied from elementary to sophomore year of high school before i said something about it and took up for myself. I waited way too long , DO NOT WAIT speak up and get the help you deserve before it gets really really bad like mine did. It's never too late. Don't let them get you down and depressed and make you want to do something bad. (self harm) (suicide) it's not worth it. You are too good for that. So, please please get the help you need and don't wait.