There are two ways to access content on social networks. You can either follow/add someone having all of their posts agglomerated into a newsfeed or you can check their Hashtags.
Hashtags are intended to highlight the subject of a post. If your kid dines out at restaurant, for example, they might use #food, #friends or #TimeSquare for their posts.
Are hashtags harmful? More than you might think!
Parents really need to know the insidious threat that lies behind hashtags. Not only does that tell you the emotional context of your child’s posts, those posts are also visible to all others who are using the same hashtags or search for those hashtags. Initially Twitter came up with Hashtags and then Facebook. For example, if your teen had a meetup plan with a friend but they didn’t show up and #Sad will be suggesting that your kid is a bit depressed about that.
Unlike the old times, kids can’t keep their problems and worries inside them; instead, they put them on social media websites so to achieve conformity and to get encouragement from others.
This is not very helpful as some online groups encourage others to resort to unhealthy behaviors. They may include self-harm practicing, eating disorders or online bullying.
Check for these eating disorders hashtags. They are red flags on your parenting list:
- #binge
- #OverWeight
- #ProAna
- #Promia
- #Starving
- #WeighLoss
- #Diet
- #Gym
Self-Harm Hashtags
Self-harm has different shades. It does involve physically harming oneself but what I consider more damaging with far-reaching consequences is the mental torture that kids give to themselves. Self-harming is just an indication that kids are psychologically strained. It’s a way to cut-off those neuro-impulses to the brain that are giving them a mental torture. In some cases, your kid might be suffering from severe depression. Have a look at some common hashtags that kids use:
- #Emo#blade#cuts
- #Blades
- #bleeding
- #ItHurts
- #SelfHarm
- #SelfHate
- #Suicide
- #Scars
Cyberbullying Hashtags
Cyberbullying is a grievous issue. Parents should take an immediate action if their kid is bullied or a bully. Check out this hashtags:
- #Depressed
- #bullied
- #bully
- #depression
- #discrimination
Sexting Hashtags
Kids and especially teens have been using provocative hashtags to instigate a sexual behavior. Sexting hashtags may include:
- #CheckOut
- #rateme
- #rt
- #r8me
- 5stars
- #sex#party#fun
Your judgment really matters when interpreting hashtags of your kids. It’s possible that your kids may only require some guidance on the use of hashtags and not any kind of lecture. Their context of using the hashtags may be completely safe. So it’s important that you first scrutinize their behavior before raising any kind of doubt or caution.
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