Social Media is Cocaine

For the adolescent mind (and for some adults), social media is like cocaine.

Snapchat, Instagram, Yik Yak, Facebook and Youtube are the tried and true drugs in which most of us are already aware. However, Burn Note, Whisper, MeetMe, After School, Skout, Omegie, are newer narcotics that have eluded most parents and school officials. In fact, these new forms of dope won’t let anyone over the age of 18 use them, so it’s impossible for adults to monitor the app their children are getting high to!

Social Media has always been a distraction in terms of school, homework, and family life. Moreover, these apps have morphed into highly addictive – life altering opiates our children openly carry around in the palm of their hands. These drugs lead to health concerns such as severe sleep deprivation, low self esteem, anxiety, depression, violent behavior, and suicide (Yes, social media kills people).

Parents, we CAN NOT monitor social media. It has changed. Social media is now way bigger than us all. It’s smarter than every one of us. It’s power and it’s reach will circumvent us 99.99999% of the time! The engineers, psychologists, and behavioral specialists that work for these billion dollar technology companies have designed these drugs to be insanely addictive and our children are their main target!

Like all drug dealers, these marketers give our kids the app for free, with hopes of hooking them for life. It has always worked and will continue to work – if we let them.

The only way to win this battle – this war, is to take our children’s “smart” phones away. Give your child a phone, but make sure he/she can only call and text you. Their phone should not have Wi-Fi, should not have internet, and should not have social media –  cocaine!

Maurice Guest Jr., is an education administrator in Little Rock, Arkansas.