Social Media And Our Children

By Tanimonure Richards Adewale

It is going viral now, of a lady murdered by her supposed boyfriend, whom she met on social media. The man called her to come visit him, and that became the last trip she ever embarked in life before taking a transit to heaven. She did not know who he was. She met him online. She believed him. She trusted whatever he told her. She met her painful waterloo visiting him. What tragedy with so many lessons!

Today, social media is fast taking over the lives of our children, presenting them so many fascinating, attractive and strongly impacting messages that is shaping their mindsets and turning them into what they never were before. Our children are becoming pathetic internet addicts, with new mindset and lifestyles that calls for serious concern and questioning.

It is easier to believe the internet today for them, than to trust the words of their parents or guardians. And why this? There are many beautiful lies and deceptions that are well-crafted to take over the minds of these children, give them false hopes or expectations, and lure them to discard every warning and counsel that they have been receiving. This is where most parents are very guilty and need to take the blame.

How many mothers and fathers know what social media their children are using on a daily basis? How many of them ever bother to find out what their children do within these media? How many of them are even internet or social media literate? They buy phones and internet gadgets for their children and leave them totally to use these gadgets as they like without proper monitoring, control and guide. These children spend longer hours feasting so many information from the internet than the ones spent with their parents. Of course, whatever they have imbibed and start manifesting are either unknown to them, or simply a blind eye turned in the name of ‘it is well.’ Hmmm! Is it really well truly?

It is so sad to read, see and hear what evils befall our dearest children today simply because parents have not been up to their duties of checking, verifying and censoring what these children gobble up a lot from the internet. Many parents are not even close to their children to know how their lives are being transformed everyday by what they feed into their minds and souls. So many of these children are very secretive of what is happening in their lives. They are very good pretenders and actors. Don’t blame them. They are faithfully obeying the instructions given them by social media, peer influence and bad role models.

Parents, please know the reality of today’s world. Be very close to your children and their social media. Get to know the peers influencing their lives. Study them enough to know who they are trying to live or be as role models. I keep saying it that a parent has failed woefully if his or her child cannot see and embrace him or her as number one role model before any other person. Parenting is not a careless or anyhow job of raising children in today’s world. Times have changed; the days are getting more evil than before.

Let your child be brought up safely by you; not social media; not friends; not Nollywood or Hollywood or any other wood actor/actress. Be your child’s number one influencer, role model and trust of growing up a godly, responsible and well respected individual in the society.

Tanimonure Richards Adewale