'Constantly living in fear': Stars share their concerns over the influence of social media on kids
By Nikolina Koevska Kharoufeh |
Whether you're a mum, dad, grandparent or carer, there is no topic more hotly debated than raising kids. Welcome to Talking Honey Parenting.
One of the ?biggest issues facing parents of this generation is screen time and the influence of social media on kids.
Many parents feel overwhelmed by the ever-changing social media landscape, ?the pressure from kids to purchase and use the latest gadgets and how exactly they can protect their kids online.
?Nine presenter Jayne Azzopardi, Today Extra host David Campbell, AFLW star Moana Hope and 9Honey's Jo Abi discuss their own tailored approach as parents in the new episode of Talking Honey Parenting.
WATCH THE EXCLUSIVE VIDEO ABOVE
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The four open up on the struggles they face with their kids and the concerns they have as they approach their teenage years. ?
While David Campbell and wife ?Lisa Hewitt have managed to avoid purchasing 12-year-old son Leo a mobile phone until now, he says it's only a matter of time.
"It is difficult. I am constantly living in fear about this," Campbell says, voicing his concerns over what impact a phone will have on his boy.
"There's the horror of being a parent, knowing that the whole world is online and we all know that online is a horrible place. You don't want them to lose their innocence too early."
Something mum-of-two Moana Hope can relate to, saying she used to have a blanket rule that her kids were not allowed to get phones or join social media sites until they turned 18.
However, her opinions on this are now changing.
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"I'd be a hypocrite. Like, I've got this social media following and I'm telling my kid, 'Hey, I'm doing it but it's not good for you'," she said.
So she and Isabella Carlstrom? have decided on a different approach.
"I think for us, we're just gonna raise our kids to know their worth and know they're loved and teach them as much as we can, especially when it comes to social media."
Being a mum of three? teenagers, Jo Abi says she is currently in the thick of the social media storm kids and parents these days are dealing with.
Though while many parents seem to think ?of the online world as a 'big, scary place' she says it isn't.
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"It's how you choose to engage with it, how you use it, that really navigates your experience," she shares with the other parents.
Abi revealed she gave her daughter her first phone when she was six so she could keep an eye on her when she was going to and from school.
"They were introduced early and I really just kept that conversation going, so we've experienced it together. We've learned together," she revealed.
But it seems one of the hardest things for each of these Aussie celebrity parents to have control of is their children's online privacy.
"There is a fear of predators coming in and messaging under different guises or under different accounts and grooming," Campbell says.
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Abi fuelled that fear by revealing her 13-year-old daughter and her friends have 'burner accounts' online, which they don't show to their parents.
"They're way ahead of us," she r?eveals to the shock of the other parents. ?
To combat the lack of control in these circumstances, Hope says she is just going to focus on raising her kids with good values.?
"A lot of it is being able to give that trust to our kids. Really teach them what's right and wrong in life and what is OK and what's not OK and let them make their decisions," she explains.
To watch the Talking Honey debate in full, watch the video above.
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