Have you seen or read the news about the Momo challenge? How about those inserted/spliced suicide videos in some Splatoon video in YouTube? Tapos may nabalita rin kay Erwin Tulfo na isang bata na nag-overdose sa gamot and they are suspecting that it’s because of a video challenge.
Read about the other news, watch nyo yung video para you can be aware. Although, para sa mga halang ang kaluluwa na gumagawa nito, may mga variation yan at maiiba in the coming days kaya let’s all be vigilant.
Kaya parents, talk to your kids. Explain to them the dangers of what they can get while online. Gwen is already 8, and I can talk to her and make her understand what’s the problem. Kids are smarter than you think, talk to them.
Should we ban social media and eliminate gadget use?
This is the question. Ang hirap talagang maging isang magulang these days, kasi dati you will just protect your child sa mga masasamang tao sa paligid. Ngayon, pati na rin sa online world kelangan nyo na rin silang bantayan.
My husband and I talked, and we agreed na in this age of social media, hindi naman pwedeng ma-eliminate ang social media at i-ban ang gadgets sa mga bata. Parang sinabi mo sa anak mo na magresearch sya sa encylopedia at isulat ang report nya ng mano-mano samantalang may Google na at pwede nang gumamit ng Word.
Nandito na tayo sa age ng Internet and we can’t stop it. May mga schools na Ipads/tablets na ang pinapagamit sa mga bata instead of books. May mga teachers na sini-send na ang mga homeworks/projects thru Viber/FB Messenger.
Ang magagawa lang natin is find solutions. Here’s what we do in our home regarding gadget use:
- Regulate/schedule gadget use. On school days, Gwen is not allowed to use any gadget. Pwede na syang manood starting Friday until Sunday. May mga studies na rin kasi about too much screen time with kids.
- No Facebook account, only Messenger. Kaya nga may age restriction si FB when you register di ba? It’s for our kids’ safety na rin. Regarding Messenger naman, this is the way we can communicate with her when we are both working at ang kasama nya lang ay yaya. Pero ngayon she don’t use the app. But I know a lot of working parents that use Messenger or Viber to communicate with each other. Wala namang masama dun as long as you tell your kids not to talk to anyone they don’t know.
- Know and watch with them on YouTube. Minsan we watch the videos sa TV para lahat kami nakakapanood. And we tell Gwen anong channels lang ang pwede nyang panoorin. Minsan may napanood ako na sigawan lang ang ginagawa, kaya I told her to stop watching it. Approved sa amin ang EvanTube, JillianTube kasi they do the videos with their parents. If you feel the need for it, may mga filters, blocking options naman ang YouTube and YouTube Kids, use that as an added safety.
- Monitor and check their Google accounts/other online accounts. Makikita nyo dun if they leave a comment on other accounts at kung anong sinabi nila dun. If your kids have their YouTube channels, you can monitor din baka may nag-iwan na ng rude comments or may nagmi-message na sa kanilang strangers.
- Communication is the key. Katulad nga nung nabalita, I immediately talked to her about this. And if she feels unsafe/threatened/uncomfortable in anything, or may nakita sya, let us know. It’s important na malaman nya na hindi namin sya papagalitan, we need to let her feel that she can talk to us about anything. Mas okay to kesa naman may takot sya and she will keep silent about these things.
To sum it all up, I think Monitor-Regulate-Communicate is the key.
Technology and social media has its advantages, and also opens to a lot of dangers. That’s why we are here as parents, let’s all be vigilant and help each other in raising our kids in the age of social media.
If you have something to share mommies, feel free to leave comments. Let us know your social media and gadget use in your homes.
Salamat sa tips Mommy. Appreciate ko sobra. I asked my kids and di nila alam eto, no phone at di rin pala YT. Pero ive been thinking of giving phone as gift kay eldest , 10. Madalas pag may usapan behind siya kasi usually may mga group chats sila for projects etc and my son is a top student. Ewan ko ko bakit di na gaano gamit ang diary nila . Kapag nakikilog in anak ko nakikita ko mostly may sariling cp at babad sa social media classmates niya and playing ML kaya i worried too na baka ano makita niya. He asked me namn of friends to accept sa fb niya. Ok lang yang Google Mommy need nila yan additional learning.
Thanks for sharing and the tips momshie . Grabe nakakatakot ung mukha ng momo na yan . Iniisip ko pano na aatemp ng mga bata panoorin yang momo challenge kung ganyan na nakakatakot ung mukha tsk . Dpat talaga limit pag gamit ng gadgets eh kung gagamit man dapat alamin talaga anung pinapanood lalo na iba na mga kabataan ngayon at ung mga lumalabas sa youtube . Ung 1yr lod baby ko pinapanood ko sya pero nag DL muna ko ng nursery rhymes and papatayin ko ung data para ung download ko lang panoorin nya wala ng iba ..
Ganyan nga ginagawa nung iba, sila nagdadownload ng videos para at least sure na kid-friendly ang mapapanood.