Kids on the Internet

There has always been a pit in my stomach, a bad taste in my mouth or a twitch in my brain when I hear or read about young kids have cell phones, iPads, iPod touch, or a social page like myspace and Facebook. It never really escalated until I saw a recent video on youtube about a girl who was "driven to plastic surgery" by bullies in school and on Facebook.

This Video portrays a young girl and her family speaking about the trouble she faces at school and on Facebook because of her nose. The family explains that the girl broke her nose when she was 2, and again when she was 8. Since then her nose changed from its original structure and has now reformed because of the breaks. Because of this, she suffered ridicule from her peers; both at school and on Facebook. The video goes on to show her family allowing the teen to undergo plastic surgery to fix her nose that she states "she hates."

My problem here isn't with her parents allowing her to have plastic surgery. I actually believe that if my child were extremely unhappy with a part of their body (that has changed because of previous injuries, like her broken nose), and I had the finances to fix it, I would consider it.

My problem here is that her parents allow her to have a Facebook page. I have believed for a long time that allowing young kids to have such advanced technology and have a social media page intended for older generations is absolutely stupid. Kids are mean, and everyone knows this. Kids poke fun at each other, they are too young to fully understand how their actions and words affect each other. Don't get it wrong, I am all for teaching our students that bullying is wrong, and just how far it can go. But, at the same time, these kids are too young to fully grasp the outcome of their actions.

I think this girl's problem could have easily been reduced by half if her parents and the other teen's parents didn't allow them to have a Facebook. What do they even need this form of media for? I truly don't understand why parents allow their kids to have these privileges, and then get upset when that very privilege causes more harm than good.