“Little Ricky said what?!”
I am hearing more and more from parents who are dealing with the challenges that inevitably go along with kids being “socially active”. Let’s talk about #OPK – Other People’s Kids.
Things like “So and so shared a photo with my daughter that I don’t think her mother would approve of. Should I tell her?”
We all have our own ideas about what is okay and what is not okay to share online. It is also important to remember that we all make our own choices about who we connect with.
When is it okay to pick up the phone (i.e., do not text, do not e-mail, call and speak directly to the intended person) and share your concern?
These situations can be delicate and difficult to navigate, especially if you are friends with the parent(s), but they are only going to become more prevalent in this digital age.
I have not had to deal with this personally yet, because Sophie is not active on social media…yet.
I have, however, seen many things which would be considered questionable and absolutely inappropriate by anyone’s standards posted by young people on various social media platforms. My thoughts: If it’s visible in my feed or timeline (i.e., I’ve not gone creeping around trying to find it) it’s fair game. With that said, depending on the content, I may just decide to ignore, unfollow or wait and see. If the content is something that I feel strongly enough to say something about, I will be very careful and thoughtful about the way I do so.
If a child is posting content about harming him or herself, and you know the child or his or her parents, I feel that you do have a responsibility to carefully make them aware of it. It’s all in the approach.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this tricky topic!
Thanks for stopping by ~
xo Jen p.s. Very excited to let you know I’ll be chatting about the book tomorrow morning with Sheinelle Jones and Mike Jerrick at FOX29 Good Day Philadelphia! Stay tuned!
J. J. Cannon 