Category: Social Media Safety

Even though TikTok has already come under scrutiny for exposing unsuspecting underage users to unsuitable content, and creating conditions that can lead to online bullying, it remains one the key contributors to today’s mental health crisis.

While the app has tightened up security and increased restrictions and controls for young TikTok user accounts, there remain clever and subversive workarounds.

These issues can grant your children access to inappropriate content.  On TikTok’s “For You Page”, for instance, no matter what the user ‘feeds’ the algorithm, there still might be scenes of gore, harmful pranks, or other antisocial behaviors. There are also TikTok privacy issues explored later in this article, which are not new.

Let’s walk you through everything you need to know about the “For You Page” algorithms. We will provide guidance that will help you take proactive steps to navigate safe uses of TikTok together with your child, leading the way towards having an open conversation about online safety and privacy concerns.

How For You Page Algorithms Work

One of the reasons TikTok’s algorithmic system of selecting content for users to view is so effective is that its ultimate purpose is to attract more daily users to the platform.

This means that the app is designed in such a way as to keep viewers coming back for more, spending increasing amounts of time each visit and engaging with the app ever more frequently. Some point towards this as a system that promotes addiction and the app has been likened to a number of highly addictive substances for this reason.

Using machine learning processes, the algorithms determine users’ tastes and preferences to highly specified degrees. After just a few hours of engaging with the app, sophisticated algorithms will have analyzed the user’s engagement to determine their taste in music, their mood, their likelihood to take drugs, and even their sexuality.

This information is then fed back into the app, providing highly personalized recommendations on the “For you” page, designed to entice the viewer to keep engaging with more content.

This can become an endless cycle, as the more videos a TikTok user watches, the more accurately the TikTok algorithm can predict which videos will be most likely to keep them engaged.

This cycle can target sensitive and impressionable users, feeding them potentially harmful content and making them further addicted to the app itself.

Fake Content Can Fool Unsuspecting TikTok Users

But all of that is just the tip of the iceberg. The For You page also tends to be full of ads prompting users to download a game or an app.

While every parent can sniff out manipulation tactics such as fake ads like this, kids won’t think and will gladly click on the link to get their next dose of excitement.

This can lead to data theft, account infiltration, and even a cyber attack on your whole home network. So if you’re using your work laptop to connect to your WiFi, best believe hackers will be after those financial reports, too.

The Most Common Risks of TikTok FYP Content

While TikTok is intended to be safe for children over the age of 13 only, in reality, this is not the case. A recent report has revealed that as many as 1.4 million children younger than age 13 have bypassed in-app security measures and been able to access TikTok.

This leaves young users vulnerable to a host of possible risks associated with TikTok FYP content. Let’s take a look at a few of the most worrying.

Unsecured Data Collection

We’ve all read about the allegations that the Chinese government has been collecting data via TikTok, and while the evidence remains inconclusive, there are lingering doubts about national security.

Over half of all 50 states in the United States have banned access to TikTok on government-issued devices as of April 2023. And while federal employees can still access the app on their personal devices, this level of concern does raise some alarms when it comes to protecting the sensitive data your kids are unwittingly sharing, just by watching videos.

As we’ve mentioned above, each video your child watches reveals information not just about what kinds of videos your child likes, but about who they are. This sensitive data has a cumulative effect. The more information the algorithm gathers, the clearer a picture it has of who your child is and what makes them tick.

That information, put into the wrong hands, can be highly dangerous, making your child vulnerable to phishing attacks and potentially compromising their overall cybersecurity.

Purposefully Pushing Harmful Content

For young TikTok users, one of the greatest dangers presented by TikTok FYP content is that deep personal vulnerabilities can be exploited – with extremely harmful results.

Teenagers and preteens who search for things like “losing weight” or “depression” will be entered into an algorithmic equation that floods their personalized page with potentially harmful content.

This content can lead to serious damage; twisting and distorting young TikTok users’ views of what their body should look like, how they should be expected to feel and act, and how they should view people in a gendered context.

Content that promotes misogyny, eating disorders, and even self-harm can have a severe impact on impressionable viewers. Since the algorithm is designed to anticipate users’ interests and desires, it can prey on common insecurities and fears, keeping young viewers hooked and engaged in dangerous content.

Fake Celebrity Accounts

Another thing parents should be wary of is content requiring their kids to engage with the poster (usually a minor TikTok celebrity).

Aside from the usual risks of your children communicating with older strangers, many of these profiles are often a product of synthetic identity fraud—a growing danger involving criminals creating carbon copies of celebrity profiles to communicate with younger fans and steal their information or even extort them.

Young users drawn in by the exciting allure of their favorite influencers will not be wary of a convincing fake and can easily be tricked into sharing sensitive information. If your child provides their home address or school schedule, this could even lead to kidnapping or physical harm.

How to Keep Your Kids Safe on TikTok

Let’s face it, restricting your child’s access to one of the most highly addictive social media apps out there may not be a walk in the park. However, it’s important that you work together with your child to find a realistic solution.

Having a frank, open, and honest conversation with your kids about the potential dangers that TikTok FYP content presents can help illuminate where you are coming from, and can make them feel more ready to engage in a cooperative negotiation.

In a wider sense, you could also try bringing up the topic of Tiktok at the next school meeting – these are collective issues facing society, so including social media safety in curricula would be a great step toward finding solutions.

Explore the options available to you when it comes to in-app parental controls, and also try safeguarding your home internet network (this is a good idea in any case). Navigating the risks together with your child can help pave the way for a safer, more communicative mode of engaging with social media- and with each other.

Final Thoughts

With its keen insights into the desires and fears of young users’ inner worlds, TikTok’s For You page represents a widespread threat.

Personalized promoted content can exploit vulnerabilities and introduce your children to harmful content. Phishing, fake accounts, and spam ads can expose your internet network and devices to malware or spyware, compromising your overall cybersecurity. And unsuspecting young TikTok users may fall prey to the schemes of bad actors pretending to be someone they are not.

In order to keep your child safe on TikTok, engage with them directly. Let them know that your concerns are legitimate by citing real-world examples, without scaring them too much, of course.

Use parental controls and restrictions, and try to understand where your child is coming from. After all, they are attached to an app that is, according to some analysts, designed to keep users addicted and ready for more.

About the Author:
Ryan Harris is a copywriter focused on eLearning and the digital transitions going on in the education realm. Before turning to writing full time, Ryan worked for five years as a teacher in Tulsa and then spent six years overseeing product development at many successful Edtech companies, including 2U, EPAM, and NovoEd.

Every day, millions of kids log into social media, where they share photos, chat with their mates, and discover new things that take their interest. Unfortunately, social media also exposes them to serious cybersecurity threats that you, as a parent, may not even have a clue about.

The problem is that unprepared children can easily “fall for the bait” and even jeopardize the safety of your entire family. Recent data shows that nearly half of teenagers are on the net almost 24/7. That constant connection makes them a lot more likely to get caught out by cyber attacks like data harvesting, identity theft, online scams, and getting in touch with dodgy characters.

How Personal Information Becomes a Security Risk

Have you ever thought about how your social media posts might mean more than just “I’m having a birthday party”? When kids post a photo from a school event, check in at a local restaurant, or show how they decorated their house for Christmas, they are revealing details about their lives, families, and leisure activities to the world. All these small bits of information start to build up to create a pretty detailed picture that “bad guys” – i.e., cybercriminals – can misuse.

It’s not hard to see the dangers of oversharing on social media when you think about how easy it is for people to put all these bits of info together. A photo of a school uniform gives away which school your child goes to. A post about a vacation lets the whole world know when your home is empty. A birthday party on social media says when your birthday is – that is often used as a password recovery question. Even things that seem harmless, like your kid’s favorite sports team or their pet’s name, can be answers to common security questions.

There are dedicated websites, such as Get Safe Online, TrustRacer, or other similar ones, that help parents get to grips with these digital safety challenges by providing expert advice on how personal information can be misused online. Their resources explain how oversharing creates security vulnerabilities and provide guidance on how you can protect your family’s digital footprint.

Children don’t often realize that their social media profiles are being watched not just by their mates but by data brokers, advertisers, and people who want to cause trouble. According to the ICO’s review on children’s online data, many online services collect loads of info about young users, making a pretty detailed picture that follows them into adulthood. This data collection is another entry point for security breaches.

The Tricks Scammers Use on Social Media

Scammers have gotten wise to social media, so they use tricks that catch young users off guard. And this is one of the main risks of using the internet for children. Unlike adults who might know what to look out for in emails, kids see threats hiding in plain sight as normal social media stuff. These attacks are designed to make you click on links and share info without really thinking about it.

Common scams that catch children out include:

• Phishing through fake accounts – messages that seem to be from their friends, asking them to click links or vote in polls that actually lead to fake login pages that nick their login details.

• Quiz and survey scams that look like fun personality tests but are actually just collecting info – asking questions that match the security questions of financial institutions.

• Fake giveaway scams that promise free gaming loot, concert tickets, or merchandise in return for your personal information, your email address, and, if you’re really unlucky, your parents’ credit card details for “verification”.

When a child answers questions about their first pet, their mother’s maiden name, or the street they grew up on, they’re unknowingly giving away the answers to common password recovery questions. These scams collect data that can be sold or used for identity theft.

The Real Risks of an Account Takeover and Identity Theft

When a kid’s social media account gets hacked, crooks can waltz into their private messages, friend lists, or other personal information, and use that info to set up some seriously nasty attacks. Compromised accounts are a goldmine for them because messages coming from a familiar face are way more likely to be trusted and clicked on, making it a hell of a lot easier to spread malware or scams.

And that’s bad enough, but the thing is – identity theft targeting young people often goes on for years without anyone even noticing. A child’s Social Security number can be used to open up credit accounts or create completely fake identities. Usually, it’s not till they try to get their first credit card or student loan that the problem gets discovered.

Catfishing and fake profiles: what could this mean for you?

What could be worse than realizing how easy it is to deceive your child by creating a fake profile that seems like their friend’s profile? It is common practice for attackers to use stolen photos and sophisticated manipulation to make profiles look real so they can gain children’s trust. And it’s not just a few weirdos – data shows a whopping third of 9-12 year olds reported getting unwanted online messages, with that number going up and up.

AI has gotten good enough to make fake profiles that are almost impossible to track. They use real photos lifted from other children’s accounts, or generate their own images that don’t turn up anywhere else online.

Your Kid’s Online Location – and the Risks That Come with It

A lot of parents have no idea that their child’s social media posts can give away their exact location. Photo metadata might have GPS coordinates that pinpoint right where the picture was taken. If a kid posts a photo from home, school, or regular hangout spots, they’re basically broadcasting their daily routine to the world.

Some platforms make it super easy for kids to share their location. Snapchat Maps gives out real-time updates, while Instagram makes it easy to tag posts to specific places that can be tracked. And if you combine that with enough other posts, you can start to figure out when they’re home alone, where they go to school, or what they do after their activities.

Risks of data harvesting

Social networks are cool in how they simplify communication between us; and terrible in how they collect huge amounts of data about you and your child. They track every click, pause, and scroll to create detailed behavioral profiles. Not just data about what they post, but also how long they spend looking at certain things, what they search for, who they talk to most, and even what they type before hitting delete.

And that’s not even counting all the third-party apps and games that integrate with social media. If your kid uses those, they’re basically handing over access to their entire profile, friend list, and photos. Many children grant these permissions without understanding what they’re sharing.  And if those companies get hacked, your kid’s data can be exposed to anyone.

Effects of Inappropriate Content on Minor Security

The effects of inappropriate content on minors extend to real risks when a kid runs into malware disguised as ’fun’ content, or gets phished by a predator who’s been watching their browsing history. That’s just the beginning, because if your kid stumbles into that kind of thing, they can get blackmailed into doing all sorts of things they don’t want to do.

Sextortion schemes are a pathetic attempt to use children’s natural curiosity and mistakes against them. If a kid accidentally comes across something they shouldn’t be looking at, scammers claim to have got evidence of it on their phone or computer and threaten to share it with all their friends unless they pay some money or send them even more compromising material. Current statistics on kids’ social media use confirm that the majority of teenagers use YouTube, TikTok, and Snapchat regularly, with many reporting near-constant internet access.

Protecting Your Little Ones from the Dangers of the Internet

Knowing what’s out there is just the beginning. Parents need practical ideas to stop their kids getting caught in the first place – without cutting them off from the world completely.

Here are some essential things to put in place to reduce the risk:

• Get tough on privacy settings – turn up the security settings to max, switch off location tracking, limit who can contact your child, and get them to agree to any tags or mentions.

• Lock down the devices – turn on parental controls, get some security software with age-appropriate web filtering, and set up separate accounts for your kid with really limited access.

• Clear the rules – work out a family policy about what personal information is and isn’t okay to share online – and no sharing of addresses, phone numbers, schools, specific locations, or anything else that could put you in danger.

• Talk about it – have regular and open dialog about what they’re up to online, but try not to be too overbearing, you want them to feel like they can come to you with any problems.

For more detailed advice on how to keep your family safe online, we’ve got loads of resources like social media safety tips for kids that will give you more tailored advice for different age groups and platforms.

Why Technical Literacy Matters More Than Ever

The question of whether kids should have social media or not is a tough one to answer. The truth is that social media is now a huge part of our lives – and that includes school and education too. The real question is how social media can be dangerous, and how we can prepare children to use platforms safely.

Helping our young ones understand what happens to their data online (and what kind of risks that brings) is key. Teaching them to spot a phishing email, to figure out when someone is pretending to be someone else on the internet, and to question anything that seems off will give them the skills to stay safe for life. Research on Gen Z mental health statistics shows complex relationships between digital engagement and wellbeing, and that we need to find a balance that helps them stay safe.

Creating a Better Online World for the Next Generation

Why social media is bad for kids is just as much about the way the platforms are designed as it is about what’s actually on them. All too often, these services are designed to keep us hooked,  not to keep us safe.

So, how can we create a family plan for social media? One that sets out clear rules and expectations, but also lets our kids grow and develop their own sense of what’s right and wrong. By including them in the process, we can help them develop a sense of what’s acceptable and what’s not. That way, we can teach them to regulate their own online behavior.

Conclusion

From identity theft to online predators and from data harvesting to location tracking – the risks are very real and are becoming more and more of a problem every day.

But by knowing what’s coming, parents can take action to keep their kids safe. While we can’t eliminate all risks, you can take care of your child’s privacy settings on social networks and apps, be alert to suspicious activity, and make sure they are well aware of all the cyber threats posed by social media and how to deal with them. If your children understand who scammers are, how they collect information, and how they use it against them, you can be more confident in their safety.

Content that disappears has become the new normal on social media. Yet it remains a blind spot for many users across various platforms. From Snapchat’s vanishing messages to Instagram Stories that last just 24 hours, ephemeral content has transformed how we communicate online.

With over 500 million users engaging with Instagram Stories daily,  ephemeral content has become the new attention currency and this trend shows no signs of slowing down. But behind the fun filters and temporary posts lies a complex web of safety risks that every user should understand. Parents should also be aware.

Definition:  It’s a word not often used.  Ethereal means something that only lasts for a short time.  Online, it’s digital material that automatically disappears after a set period, typically 24 hours.

What Makes Ephemeral Content Different

Unlike traditional social media posts that remain visible indefinitely, these temporary messages, photos, and videos create a sense of urgency and exclusivity. The ephemeral nature creates a sense of urgency and exclusivity, driving users to engage with content immediately.

The appeal is undeniable. Ephemeral content feels more authentic and less polished than permanent posts. It encourages spontaneity and reduces the pressure of maintaining a perfect online image. For young people especially, it offers a way to share moments without worrying about building up an embarrassing digital history.

The False Sense of Security

Here’s where the danger begins: disappearing content creates a false sense of privacy and safety. As messages can disappear on Snapchat after they’ve been viewed, this can create a false sense of security and anonymity, potentially emboldening users and encouraging risky behavior, such as sending sexually explicit messages or images.

Users may believe that because content vanishes, it’s truly gone forever. This misconception leads to sharing content they would never post permanent intimate photos, personal information, or messages they might later regret. The reality is far different.

The Screenshot Problem

The most significant vulnerability of ephemeral content is simple yet devastating: screenshots. Snaps are designed to delete by default, but people that you send Snaps to can still take a screenshot or take a picture of the Snap with another device.

While platforms like Snapchat do notify users when someone screenshots their content, this notification comes too late—the damage is already done. Any risqué, embarrassing or harmful message sent to a peer can be sent around and shared with dozens of friends without the sender even knowing. Even worse, third-party apps and screen recording software can bypass screenshot notifications entirely, capturing content without the sender’s knowledge.

For young people, this creates a particularly dangerous situation. A private moment shared with a trusted friend can become public in seconds. Screenshots can be used for cyberbullying, harassment, or even blackmail. Intimate photos, once captured, can follow someone for years, affecting relationships, educational opportunities, and mental health.

Identity and Self-Presentation Challenges

As social media posts accumulate, there is a growing worry among users that the long-term visibility of historical information may damage their self-image and pose a threat to future interactions. Ephemeral content was partly designed to address this concern, allowing users to share without building a permanent digital footprint.

However, this creates its own problems. Young people are still developing their identities, and ephemeral platforms encourage rapid-fire sharing without thoughtful consideration. Content may disappear from the platform, but the psychological impact on both sender and receiver can be lasting. Comments made in haste, images shared without thinking, or words spoken in anger don’t simply vanish from memory when they disappear from a screen.

The Predator Problem

The heavy emphasis on anonymity and disappearing content allows predators to target, groom, and manipulate young victims, especially as evidence of their interactions quickly disappears unless screenshotted or recorded.

This is perhaps the most serious concern with ephemeral content. Predators exploit the disappearing nature of these platforms to communicate with minors, knowing that their grooming attempts will automatically erase. Without a permanent record, it becomes harder for parents, authorities, or even victims themselves to identify and report dangerous behavior.

The anonymity features that make these platforms feel safe actually create cover for those with malicious intent. Creating fake accounts is remarkably easy, and the temporary nature of content makes it difficult to build a case against abusers.

Sextortion and Exploitation

Between 2021 and 2023, more than 13,000 sextortion cases involved minors, mostly male teenagers. Sextortion occurs when someone threatens to share intimate images unless the victim provides more explicit content or money.

Ephemeral platforms are particularly vulnerable to this crime. Young people may feel comfortable sharing intimate content because they believe it will disappear. Criminals capture this content and use it for blackmail. The victim’s initial assumption of privacy becomes the very thing used against them.

Platform Responses

Social media companies are beginning to address these concerns. Instagram has blocked disappearing stories from being accessed through web browsers, where they could have been recorded easily and the platform now automatically blurs nude images in direct messages sent to teen users.

Snapchat has introduced Family Center, allowing parents to see their teen’s friend list and who they’ve been communicating with, though not the content of messages. These are positive steps, but they don’t eliminate the fundamental risks of ephemeral content.

Tips for Navigating Ephemeral Content

For parents, education is the first line of defense. They should also utilize parental monitoring, including but not limited to installed parental controls.  These won’t show message content but can help monitor who your child is connecting with.

Whether you’re a teenager or an adult using ephemeral content, some principles apply universally.  Assume everything is permanent. Content can be stored on various servers for certain periods of time, and it’s also possible for people to take screenshots or save content that includes sensitive or private information.

• Understand privacy settings. Take time to review who can see your content, who can contact you, and whether your location is being shared. Ghost Mode exists for a reason—use it.

• Be skeptical of the urgency factor. Ephemeral content thrives because people crave urgency, unpredictability, and exclusivity. Don’t let FOMO push you into sharing content you’re not comfortable with.

• Report concerning behavior immediately. If someone is pressuring you for inappropriate content or making you uncomfortable, use the platform’s reporting tools and tell a trusted adult.

• Remember that context matters. Even innocent content can be manipulated when taken out of context. A photo that seems funny to you might look very different when cropped, captioned differently, or shared in another setting.

The Broader Digital Literacy Issue

The risks of ephemeral content point to a larger need for comprehensive digital literacy education. Understanding how technology works, what happens to our data, and how to protect ourselves online should be as fundamental as learning to read and write.

Young people need to understand that their digital actions have real-world consequences. The temporary nature of ephemeral content can make online interactions feel like they don’t matter, but they do. Relationships are built or destroyed, reputations are created or damaged, and futures can be helped or harmed by what we share—even when we think it’s disappearing.

Moving Forward Safely

Ephemeral content isn’t going anywhere. Its popularity continues to grow, and new features are constantly being added to make these platforms even more engaging. The key is learning to use them wisely.

For parents, this means staying informed about the platforms your children use and maintaining open communication about online experiences. For users of all ages, it means thinking before sharing and understanding that “temporary” doesn’t mean “safe.”

The disappearing act of ephemeral content is powerful and appealing, but it shouldn’t make us disappear into complacency about online safety. By understanding the risks and taking proactive steps to protect ourselves and our families, we can enjoy the creative and social benefits of these platforms while minimizing the dangers they present.

Kids aren’t just scrolling anymore. They’re filming, editing, posting, and building entire followings from their bedrooms. Some are selling handmade bracelets. Others are sharing cooking tips or daily routines.

It’s creative, it’s social, and sometimes it even pays. But with all that freedom comes stuff that’s harder to talk about: privacy risks, pressure, and the kind of comments no one should have to deal with.

Teaching Digital Literacy and Platform Awareness

Teenagers probably know TikTok inside and out while their parents are still figuring out how to unmute themselves on Zoom calls. But knowing how to use something doesn’t mean understanding how it works. Parents and educators should sit with children and teens to ensure they create videos safely and stay protected online. They need to explain that these apps are designed to keep users scrolling for as long as possible.

Each platform has its own vibe and rules. What works on TikTok might crash on YouTube. Privacy settings aren’t just boring legal stuff. They decide whether you’re sharing with friends or the whole internet. And deleting something doesn’t mean it’s gone. Screenshots are forever, especially of posts people regret later. It’s not about scaring kids into silence. It’s about teaching them to pause before posting something they’ll wish they hadn’t.

Building Strong Support Networks

Creating content can feel incredibly lonely, especially when dealing with mean comments or weird messages from strangers. Young creators need adults in their lives who get what they’re going through, not just people who think the solution is to delete everything and go outside more.

Online communities can be amazing or absolutely toxic, sometimes in the same thread. The good spaces celebrate creativity without demanding perfection and don’t make anyone feel pressured to share more than they want to.

Managing Mental Health and Online Pressure

Watching those like counts go up and down becomes this crazy rollercoaster that messes with your head. Kids start posting for fun, then suddenly they’re refreshing their phones every few minutes to see if anyone cared about their latest video. Those little numbers stop being just numbers and start feeling like they prove whether you’re cool, successful, or worth anything at all.

Young creators need permission to take breaks without feeling like they’re giving up or falling behind. Real life should still matter more than online metrics, but it’s hard to remember that when worrying about losing momentum or being forgotten. When comments start ruining moods or sleep gets lost over view counts, something needs to change because the validation cycle messes with everyone’s head eventually, including professional influencers with massive audiences who still have mental breakdowns over engagement drops.

Learning to ignore trolls is a life skill at this point. Some people comment on horrible stuff just because they’re bored or miserable, and responding usually makes them try even harder to get under people’s skin.

Protecting Personal Information and Privacy

Kids share everything now without thinking about who might be watching. School logos, street signs, daily schedules, even reflections in car windows can give strangers way too much information about where someone lives and what they do. It sounds paranoid until people realize how easy it is to piece together someone’s entire life from their social media posts.

Creators can still be authentic and relatable without turning themselves into an open book for creeps. Some never show their houses, use different names online, and keep their real friend groups completely separate from their public accounts.

Private accounts for friends and family aren’t just a good idea, they’re essential. Everyone needs space to be awkward and human without worrying about how it affects their brand or image.

Dealing with Cyberbullying and Harassment

Harassment is part of the reality when you put yourself online. Some people show up in comment sections looking for a fight simply because they can hide behind a username. Young creators need a plan before it happens. Scrambling to respond in the moment only makes it harder.

The basics matter: save evidence, don’t engage, report everything. Screenshots help if things escalate, but arguing back usually gives trolls more fuel. The hardest situations often involve people the creator knows offline, which makes it more personal and more complicated.

Social media isn’t perfect, but it’s part of how kids learn, connect, and express themselves. They’re not going to stop creating just because it gets complicated. What helps most isn’t panic or control, it’s steady support. That means checking in, setting boundaries together, and making sure they know they can step away when they need to. If we get that right, they’ll keep showing up with confidence, because they’ll know someone’s in their corner when it counts.

Social media emerged so swiftly and ubiquitously into daily life that no one had time to truly understand its implications, especially for children. We watched our kids pick up smartphones and engage with platforms we hardly understood ourselves.

We didn’t set clear guidelines or boundaries because, frankly, we didn’t know we needed to. And now, the consequences are clearer, and more troubling, than ever.

Where We Went Wrong with Social Media

We introduced a generation of children to an unprecedented digital landscape without a roadmap. Kids, naturally curious and eager for validation, dove headfirst into platforms designed to captivate and hold their attention. Social media promised connection but delivered anxiety. It guaranteed entertainment but came at the cost of focus, sleep, and self-esteem.

Studies like those found in Jean Twenge’s book, “iGen: Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy–and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood”, and Jonathan Haidt’s influential work, “The Coddling of the American Mind“, have shown how our lack of early intervention and guidance has resulted in a generation struggling with unprecedented mental health issues.

Kids have been flooded with unrealistic portrayals of life, continuous social comparisons, and unfiltered access to adult content, no controls, no guardrails. Now we grapple with a young population increasingly prone to anxiety, depression, and chronic distraction, struggling to develop critical social skills and self-confidence, all while sacrificing the precious innocence of childhood.

In short, we didn’t educate our children about social media; we simply handed it to them. And now we’re scrambling to fix something we should have proactively managed.

Here Comes the Next Wave: Artificial Intelligence

Just as we’ve begun understanding the social media damage and cyber threats, we face another powerful technological transformation: AI.

Artificial Intelligence tools, especially generative ones like ChatGPT, are becoming as common as the calculator. Already, students use them to write essays, complete homework, and answer exam questions. Without intervention, we risk repeating history, but with even more dire consequences.

AI, much like the calculator in the last century, risks atrophying the intellectual muscles of our children. Just as mental math faded with the rise of handheld calculators, critical thinking and creativity might atrophy as AI-generated content becomes the norm.

If left unchecked, the ease of AI will erode students’ fundamental skills, reading comprehension, logical reasoning, creativity, and effective communication. These aren’t just academic skills; they’re life skills, crucial to navigating adulthood.

Moreover, overreliance on AI can weaken the very foundation of education: the ability to question, to debate, and to create genuinely original thought. Soon, students may graduate without having developed these essential skills, left unequipped for the realities of life.

Avoiding Another Social Media Mistake: Taking Control of AI

Fortunately, we’re still in a position to learn from our social media missteps. We now recognize the consequences of leaving children unsupervised in digital landscapes. AI doesn’t have to repeat that tragic history, but only if parents and educators step forward with proactive guidelines.

Here’s how we can avoid making the same mistakes with AI:

1. Establish Clear Guidelines and Boundaries Early

We must define clear boundaries around AI usage in school and at home. Make sure kids understand when and how it’s appropriate to use AI and when it undermines genuine learning. Early structure prevents confusion and overdependence later on.

2. Teach the Risks Explicitly

We must educate children explicitly on the dangers of over-reliance on AI. They should understand how easily it can stunt their intellectual growth, making them reliant rather than resourceful.

Just as we’ve finally started teaching digital literacy around social media, we must now teach “AI literacy”, helping kids identify limitations, biases, and proper use cases for these tools. While doing that, we just can’t forget about basic literacy.

3. Show Kids We Understand the Technology Too

Kids easily dismiss adults who seem clueless about new technology. To be credible, we must demonstrate our own understanding and thoughtful use of AI tools. By showing them that we see AI as a tool, not a crutch, we lead by example, reinforcing a healthy relationship with technology. Even yearbooks are being digitized, so we have to make sure we teach them how to use these tools, and how to know when they are not in the range of safety.

4. Emphasize Critical Thinking and Creativity

Schools should adapt quickly, placing renewed emphasis on teaching critical thinking, originality, and communication skills that AI can supplement, but never replace. Rather than banning AI outright, we should strategically integrate it into lessons as a resource to support, not replace, student effort.

Moving Forward Thoughtfully

We’ve seen firsthand the cost of neglecting guidance and structure in digital spaces. Social media caught us unaware; we weren’t ready. Now, our children are paying a high price in mental health and social development.

AI technology is evolving rapidly, and its transformative potential, both positive and negative, is immense. As educators, parents, and guardians, our task is to step ahead this time, thoughtfully guiding the next generation through this new digital revolution.

By embracing clear boundaries, teaching critical risks and benefits, modeling intelligent use, and re-centering education around fundamental skills, we can ensure our children grow with the technology rather than becoming passive consumers of it.

Let’s not drop the ball again. Our children deserve better, and now, equipped with hindsight and foresight, we have the power to deliver it.