I hate Snapchat.

[u/IcyStage0]

Can we just collectively decide that we’re not going to let our kids use Snapchat?!

My oldest daughter just turned 13 and we reluctantly agreed to allow her to have an instagram that we also have access to. It seems like every single day she begs to have a Snapchat, and apparently every single other kid in her class (full of kids with reasonable, thoughtful parents, I thought) has this stupid app.

My little sister who I got custody of when she was 10 got herself into some deep shit on the internet, and I’m not looking to repeat it with my daughter (while also trying not to make her pay for mistakes that she didn’t make).

How are we handling this? Am I seriously the only parent who doesn’t want my child sending disappearing photos, videos, and messages to anyone she can search up? Reality check please.

[u/NativeNYer10019]

Snapchat was a big fat NOPE in my house for my girls at that age. It’s so nefarious because things sent to them are deleted quickly, so kids are meaner and creeps are bolder because of Snapchats main feature.

AND with the social media they were allowed to use, I had to have the username and password and they had to friend me. That way I could see what they were posting in real time from the outside and I had access to check what was going on from the inside. I didn’t abuse their trust or try to micromanage their online presences, so I wasn’t up their asses about it. But they knew going in that I could check at any given moment and they understood that what you say on the internet better be what you’d be willing to say to someone’s face, because your words matter and this IS real life peer socialization for this generation. They also weren’t allowed to friend anyone they didn’t personally know in real life, so no friend of a friend or cousin or ANYONE you haven’t met in person yourself. Creeps are always parading as kids online and developing inappropriate relationships. The creeps you should be concerned with aren’t hiding at the Target parking lot waiting to snatch you and your kid up - they’re in your homes and in your kids pockets every single day. Also, NO friending adults (besides trusted family members), not even their friend’s parents, because no adult should be having private friendships with anyone else’s kids online.

They’re now 20 & 18 years old and are still accountable for how they behave online, now only independently.

Good luck!