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Don't get my wrong it's my dream to one day start a family. But I'm very concerned about kid's exposure to the internet these days. I could just not allow them to have a phone or anything until 16 but then I'm sure they'll be bullied over it.
When I was a teen online we were just depressed emos or hyper acting scene kids. Or just nerds who didn't fit in at school. I never heard of neopronouns, I didn't know what transgender was, you didn't hear that much about mental illnesses cause no one cared, but now that's all kids seem to talk about these days. I'm also highly disturbed by the fact I keep seeing users under 18, under 15 even, being so open about 18+ type topics.
I used to be a very gullible autistic teen on the internet so I know how easily convinced kids can be. Even if I teach my kids right I worry groomers might influence them which is a huge problem at the moment or other kids influencing them with bad behavior as I'm noticing a lot of kids these days think being bitchy and harassing others is cool.
Hopefully if it happens I'll have a husband to help teach them right and maybe be tech savvy if we have to end up restricting or monitoring them. I don't want to not trust my kid but I don't like the direction internet is in.
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I have memories as a kid being a problematic child on the Internet, but modern conveniences like discord probably make things too easy for the bad things you mentioned to occur.
Alveus Nosville
The way I see it - it's no different from the emo wave of old. We all tried to figure ourselves out at that age in ways that people older than us didn't get precisely because they weren't supposed to be a part of the process and the questiuon of identity have always been a part of that. From what I seen of neos, it's literally just that - identity, but misplaced.
Far as safety concerns go, honestly the guys here seem to have their shit together, they recognize when things get weird instantly, and better than I could in a week at their age.
It's honestly the rest of the 'net that worries me.
I did think this probably is no different from labels from we were teens. But at the same time I feel like it's offensive to people struggling with their gender or understanding what they are as it seems most kids treat it as a fun trend rather than a mental disorder. Which I think another comment did bring up misinformation being an issue with mental disorders.
I remember I gave out personal info like the dumb child I was but I guess I was lucky no one killed me. I'm just worried that now days anyone can much easily connect and sites like Instagram or Facebook encourages you to post every detail on your life on it.
by Gray
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Missinformation always was a part of that stage in life as well, it's a part of the learning process and I am sure they'll be better for it.
As for personal info, I don't see much of any of that here or anywhere else on the internet, I am not sure whether that's actually an upward trend of danger awarenes as well or just a case of dwindling of relevence for that info in online interactions. The backgrounds of photos and videos could be a source of danger but so far I don't hear of that being a thing. Also it seems that they tend to stick together when shooting outside.
Sure it's never gonna be perfectly safe, but nothing in life is and I stand by them being way better at staying out of trouble than we were.
by Alveus Nosville; ; Report
✘Scream Queen✘
The internet’s environment has changed for better and for worse. We’re more open to accepting those who don’t fit in the norms of society and more education about humans and how we work. However a lot of the internet access younger kids are exposed to is during an era where misinformation and fear mongering is wildly accepted for some reason. Where misinformation about mental illness can stress kids out, where a young audience is exposed to adult content because their parents aren’t monitoring the internet usage. Where kids have straight up posted the most intimate details about their trauma and are basically screaming to strangers “I’m young and vulnerable.” I don’t think it’s on the fault of the kids by any means, all of us were impressionable teens who said and did stupid things. But rather the failings of responsible parents who don’t check in with their kids, the content they’re exposed to, and what their online usage looks like. Kids often don’t fully grasp things like why 18+ is so harmful to their brain development, they can’t really fully understand. So it’s up to their guardians to teach them and educate them on why it can ruin their brain development and their view on real life. Internet safety that was constantly shoved in our faces in the 90s and early 2000s is a thing of the past and it really shows :(
I feel like what scares me the most is the rebellious teen years. I had a phase were I was into things my parents were against. I guess I still knew to avoid bad things but I worry that things are more extreme these days. I think my biggest concern is how a lot of things I consider bad is what the media tries to push as normal. I guess that's another thing, there's people out there pushing the idea it's not a parent's job to teach their kid right and wrong, it's teachers or internet celebrities or whoever. Sometimes I wonder if I need to find a small community of like minded people to live with, I have heard about parents getting together to homeschool kids.
by Gray
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eyeless jack
The fact I see 13 year olds on this website who want strictly nsfw interacts definitely... worries me. I recently saw one who said they didn't care about age as well, and I am in no place to tell people what to do with their lives but I really wanted to tell them they should cut it out because that could be seriously dangerous. Privacy on the internet used to be a huge thing too, but in recent years it's all been crazy, like especially with carrds, the amount of information someone puts online could definitely be dangerous, especially for younger people. I hope some time soon internet safety gets more talked about.
It is crazy to think how back then as a kid, adults were pushing how scary and mysterious the internet is. But maybe that worked cause when I started interacting with others online, all of us were very careful about what we were doing and would even be super suspicious of others who were 'naïve' and posting details about their real life. But it feels like now when I push how dangerous this is younger people have that "okay boomer" attitude about it. I also have moments where I feel like it isn't my place to tell others how to live their lives but I guess since I'm getting older I can't help but feel like it's my job as an adult to speak up when I see kids doing things they shouldn't be.
by Gray
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