Parents Beware! Parents Beware! Could Your Child Be the Victim of Formspring Bullies? For parents, trying to keep up with the latest trends in social media can be challenging. Whereas once MySpace was top dog, Facebook has now taken over. However, since Facebook is not just the preserve of youngsters, and adults themselves are conversant with its functionality, parents typically feel reasonably comfortable about their older children becoming members and about their own ability to provide advice on using the site safely and responsibly. Formspring, on the other hand, appears to be very much a young person’s site, and it is one that is attracting a considerable amount of bad press. Launched in November 2009, Formspring is a website that was intended to help people get to know one another by asking questions. Because members can ask their questions anonymously, however, the site has opened the doors to bullies who post hateful, discriminatory, threatening and even pornographic comments. These comments can be so damaging that one 17-year-old girl from West Islip, N.Y., committed suicide in March 2010 after receiving dozens of insults on the site. Another thing that leaves Formspring members exposed is the lack of privacy settings, which means that everyone can view everyone else’s profile pages and post disturbing questions if they choose to. The number of Formspring members is around 20 million and growing, but relatively few parents are even aware of the site’s existence. It is, however, a site that warrants their careful vigilance. Remember this is only one site from the 1000's out there. In a world of SnapChat, Instagram, Tinder, POF and more. Everyone at any age is now in the middle of a social change where we are connected to everyone around the world. We have to make sure to educate those around us and make sure they are aware of the risks of these platforms. Hope you have great day and remember where there is magic… Miracles Await. Thanks for reading! :) If you enjoyed it, hit that heart button below. Would mean a lot to me and it helps other people see the story. |
