Social Media ruining lives

I really cant stand facebook.  I only signed upto it 2 years ago when i started working for myself and for work purposes it does a job.

As for the social aspect of it, it is an absolute minefield.

Today for example i watched a video of a guy who was working but arguing with some pissed up smack 'ed.  Some kids where filming it (natutally) and all of a sudden the smack head said something very derogatory about the working guys kids.  (I wont repeat it as it made me sick)

As soon as he said it the working guy smacked him about a few times and then walked off.  Up until that point he had taken a torrent of abuse and stood strong.  But the minute he mentioned his kids he lost it and rightly so.

So what will happen now?  The video has been shared 1000's of times.  Will his employer see it?  If so what will happen?  If you ask me he had it coming but he had his work stuff on all logo'd up.

What would you do knowing you was being filmed and it will most likely end up on line?

i watched the same video last night as well, the smackrat deserved it and more to be honest. The bloke did well to hold off as long as he did, but i suppose if he does work for a company it may come back to haunt him.

It is a problem though that everyone's first thought these days when any kind of issue comes up they start to video. It's the bullying video's that really get to me as i hate that kind of thing.

Me too.  I cant stand that.  And this is the problem with everyone being able to record and document every aspect of their life.  (1984 anyone?)

Plus the attention seeking and bragging that goes on absolutely winds me up.

Sorry chaps, but if you don't like this crap then don't go on social media.

I don't have a Facebook/Twitter/Instagram account so I see none of it.

I can't believe the amount of parents who let their kids do what they want on social media, it's absolutely mental. It should be banned for under 18's, it's far more damaging than alcohol or drugs will ever be.

Natasha Whittam wrote:Sorry chaps, but if you don't like this crap then don't go on social media.

I don't have a Facebook/Twitter/Instagram account so I see none of it.

I can't believe the amount of parents who let their kids do what they want on social media, it's absolutely mental. It should be banned for under 18's, it's far more damaging than alcohol or drugs will ever be.

I agree with everything you said.  But a decent proportion of my business comes from facebook and relies on me having people on there to like and share work related posts.

Linkedin is far better but i need that presence on there.

As far as kids and social media i agree wholeheartedly.  My lad is 8 and asked for a facebook just last week.  I told him in no uncertain terms that he cant have one until he NEEDS one.

The same with a youtube channel.  Kids are obsessed with putting videos of themselves on youtube thanks to people like stampy and dan tdm and amylee various other youtubers.  Its like its a dream profession for most kids now is to be a "youtuber"!

This again comes back to not being able to let your kids play out anymore.  When i was my sons age i was here there and everywhere playing with mates.

But because of perceived threats etc, its too "dangerous" to do it.  And why is that? Because everyone is filming every single thing that happens and it is spread on social media like wildfire.  The threats where always there.

Thats why there are so many different clubs etc and its a booming business as its a way of getting your kids out and interacting.

my lad wanted a facebook account but they had a visit from the community Policeman at School and they were all told they shouldn't be on any social media before they are 13 and he seems ok with that.

We have just this last week let him play out in the front street (cul-de-sac) on his own (he's 9) and it's hard letting go, he put the fear of God in me last week as i went to check on him and he wasn't in the street. I was shouting him for 5 minutes getting more and more worried when i heard kids voices from someone in the streets back garden so took a chance and he was there thank God.
He got a major bollocking from me and the wife for not telling us where he had gone and he won't do it again i can tell you!

Good posts. One thing I don't like is that we've scared ourselves and our kids into not going out. We allow gangs to form and govern areas. We watch while our police and judiciary system become ever more incapable of controlling things, and the icing on the cake is the use and manipulation of the internet. Clubs seem to be the only real outlet for kids nowadays, but for many, costs come with this option, and some parents cannot always manage this.
Kids are today told to spend more time on the internet, 'to protect the country'. What a load of bollocks. Let the kids be kids, and have a proper childhood, that doesn't stop at 5 or 6.

Natasha Whittam wrote:Sorry chaps, but if you don't like this crap then don't go on social media.

I don't have a Facebook/Twitter/Instagram account so I see none of it.

I can't believe the amount of parents who let their kids do what they want on social media, it's absolutely mental. It should be banned for under 18's, it's far more damaging than alcohol or drugs will ever be.

I can't believe that Bolton's number 1 fan and Preston Businesswoman of the year twice (your words not mine) doesn't have a twitter account, you were made for Twitter Nat 

You're have the right approach Mr Pig, well done !

Glad you found him Norpig, however kids like to go an explore that's normal. I used to be out in the street all the time, playing Football, hide and seek, and exploring etc. As bad as the world is sometimes, we can't wrap children in cottonwool forever. If we do so, the end result is going to be alot more of the 'snowflake generation' that we have now. However having said that I understand the dangers of social media, and I'm sure you have to be 18 to sign up to Facebook anyway. Unless that's changed now. I think as long as you monitor what your kids are doing online and you put on certain security settings I don't see why teenagers can't be on social media platforms. High school is probably the right age for a teen to have it I would say. All throughout my school years I used to come home and spend hours online gaming meeting nice people from all around the world. Even made some great local friends via it. Yes the dangers are always going to be there, but if you teach your children what is right and what is wrong and keep an eye on what they are doing there is no harm in it.

I'd like to agree with you LT, but a system that works on anonymity is ideal for the scum of the earth to abuse, and kids, no matter of what age, are always under threat of some sort. 
Having the owners  refusing to police the systems, on privacy 'concerns' has nothing to do with it. Its all down to profit. 
Social media is abused by so many that its more of a disease than a help. We know the risks, but we can't stop using it. That means we should keep telling our kids of the dangers, but should also include the ability to fix the root cause of the problem. Its not just the kids, there's the dark net, terrorism, pedophilia, and no doubt some things we haven't even thought of. What was once seen as a brilliant tool could well start to unwind society that has taken centuries to establish. The internet is the average man's addiction, and in the long term, may well have the same results as recent 'legal highs'. Not a good thing.

Its not the kids knowing right from wrong.  Its everyone else.  My kids know everything they need to.  They arent "wrapped in cotton wool" and people using phrases like snowflake kids pisses me off.  I live in salford.  If i lived in a quiet cul de sac then fair enough. But i live on a busy street where there are gangs of youths hanging about who even give adults shit and wouldnt think twice about an 8 year old lad.  If being concerned for my kids welfare is creating more of a problem and bringing up a reasonable and well balanced child the best i can in a situation different than we had growing up causes problems then so be it.  But i know for a fact he will do a lot better for himself than the miscreants wondering around here giving people shit and jumping on cars and then posting it on social media

I'm with you on this Y2J. More and more, all we can do is look after our own, in whatever way we can 

We are where we are and we just have to get on with it I suppose.

Social media will not be going away anytime soon, so we have to adapt to it and try to teach our kids how to deal with it.

Obviously if the parents act like nobs on it, then the kids will grow up acting that way too.

I personally think more time spent on social media means less time talking to people in real life and so interpersonal skills and understanding body language is poorer for it.

My daughter is university educated yet a year or so ago she was telling me some nonsense (I can't even remember what it was now) that she was convinced was a fact because it was reported widely at the time on social media!

I told her that she should know better to spout 'gossip' without checking her facts first.  Hopefully a lesson learned by her not to believe anything as the truth on social media because someone (or even many people) says it is.

Another previous example from my daughter was she 'shusshed' me to listen to the radio about some American girl vlogger who had been caught being paid to endorse products - even though she had built her social media vlog on being free from such stuff.

Again I said she shouldn't believe anything said on social media without getting in confirmed by a reputable source elsewhere AND what did it matter what some vlogger or other thought about the latest fashion or song (or whatever it was) - and to make her own mind up about stuff and not just follow the crowd.

Nuts of course is a social media site and look how much trouble we've suffered from people being abusive on here, taking it deadly serious and having agendas!

Christ we are only in existence for a laugh yet I'm seen as the devil incarnate by some (and not just on this site) because I've had to mod them in the past because they had crossed the line once to often.

Social media is a way of life for most people now.  I find a huge chunk of it is just dross to me - no I don't want to look at a picture of your baby, pet, holiday snap, food, etc, nor do I want to be enthralled by your (unfunny) wit, gifs, video clips and what other moronic shite people choose to put on there - but - and here is the rub - many do.

So I'm side lined from most of it.

I keep away from fb because I prefer to live my life speaking to real people - it's not hard even I can facetime if they are too far away to meet in the flesh.

I use Nuts twitter for news about the club (and news in general) and occasionally still shake my head as to how grown up men and women behave themselves on there.

But most of all I laugh to myself as to how serious many people take social media to be!

It's not going to change though.

I hope my words haven't offended anyone. I'm not sniping at anyone. But some parents just take things to the extreme. Everybody has different circumstances and situations. I just really do believe alot of people do wrapped their children in cotton wool too much. The only way to let them learn about life is to actually let them experience it for themselves. By all means teach them right from wrong, but don't be an over the top parent who stops them doing things they children should be allowed to do. I'm sure you are all good parents on here.

Leeds_Trotter wrote:Glad you found him Norpig, however kids like to go an explore that's normal. I used to be out in the street all the time, playing Football, hide and seek, and exploring etc. As bad as the world is sometimes, we can't wrap children in cottonwool forever. If we do so, the end result is going to be alot more of the 'snowflake generation' that we have now. However having said that I understand the dangers of social media, and I'm sure you have to be 18 to sign up to Facebook anyway. Unless that's changed now. I think as long as you monitor what your kids are doing online and you put on certain security settings I don't see why teenagers can't be on social media platforms. High school is probably the right age for a teen to have it I would say. All throughout my school years I used to come home and spend hours online gaming meeting nice people from all around the world. Even made some great local friends via it. Yes the dangers are always going to be there, but if you teach your children what is right and what is wrong and keep an eye on what they are doing there is no harm in it.

Listen to Supernanny.

its a tough balancing act LT, as a kid i was roaming everywhere but times have changed and i wouldn't feel comfortable my 9 year old wandering the streets, it was hard enough letting him play in the street!

You do need to let your kids have a bit of freedom and experience new things but you have to balance that in making sure they are aware of what dangers are out there. I've been telling my 9 year old for years now about not talking to strangers and what to do if someone tries to to get him to go with them. 
I'm always telling him that if and when he gets access to social media that he needs to let me or the wife know if he sees anything untoward  or is contacted by anyone he doesn't know and also to let me know about any cyber bullying that may happen.

All i can do is point him and my 5 year old when she's a bit older in the right direction and bring them up in a correct way and just hope they listen and learn and be ok but as i said letting them have a bit more freedom as they get older is very hard and worrying for any parent

I pay out over hundred quid a month for clubs atm for just my lad.

Rugby
Swimming
Football
Cubs and soon cricket (although im hoping i get a discount for that through friends and family)  

My girl is starting street dance and swimming soon and rainbows once she is 5.  And that's without days out, cinema etc. 

After rugby now i let him stay with his friends for a bit plying in the trees but i know either me or one of the other parents can see them and they know where we are.  That's about as much as he can have round our way. 

 its not being over protective. Its actually ensuring their safety.  We have a half way house at the bottom of our street with god knows what in it. We have kids my sons age lobbing stuff set houses and cars. Plus plastic gangsters in their all black LA get up robbing everything and anything.

I keep trying to lay the foundations for moving back to bolton but its not happening.

Bloody hell Johnny ! I have to say that I've been lucky enough, apparently, to never have lived in such an area, even though I've moved around nearly all my life, or if I did, I was unaware of it. We had neighbours such as the family that were arsoles, bullying, and suchlike, but nothing like todays goings on. 
I've just changed all my TV, phone, broadband etc to Sky Q, so I don't think I'll venture out ever again !

Too many people are using social media as an alternative to actually communicating with people by having a conversation. Everything now is either a text or a bloody tweet. Each to their own I guess, but it's not for me.