Generation Clickbait: we owe our children a total social media ban
We’re playing a deadly game and waiting for a tragedy
There’s always something haunting about seeing a child’s face on the news. The school photograph. The missing milk teeth, the socks slipping down a grazed knee, the hands clasped forever around a dolly. And the almost certain knowledge that the only reason you’re seeing that child at all is that a silent, unseen monster has stolen away their short life, and robbed their family of their light. I grew up in the paedophile panic of the early 2000s: the adults learnt not to let us roam the streets or visit a strangely keen neighbour alone. It would be scandalous to practice such lax parenting now. But for some reason, suddenly and without controversy, it’s okay to let your 9 year old have a TikTok account.
“Stop mommy-shaming,” I can hear ringing in my ears already. “It’s so hard to be a parent, you have no idea!” You are right: I don’t. Yet. But I know a ridiculously risky, stupid thing to allow when I see it. And I am going to ‘shame’ you for allowing something that puts your child at risk of serious harm: or death. No matter how much you try to keep an eye on it, no matter what safety apps you install, no matter what the settings or rules are, your child is now being exposed to and watched by strangers. Your child is…
