Parents Warning: delete this Instagram follower

[Uglybetty]

Thameside Gymnastics in the Uk have advised deleting the Instagram follower: Gymlover 1233. Apparently he/she follows a lot of gymnasts and has requested photos from a young gymnast. Better safe than sorry.

 

[bookworm]

And did anyone see Criminal Minds last night? Should totally scare the daylights out of anyone "inviting" followers to young kids...

 

[2G1B]

And did anyone see Criminal Minds last night? Should totally scare the daylights out of anyone "inviting" followers to young kids...

I told my kids this morning that after school they have to watch the first 5 minutes or so of that episode!

 

[onebusymama]

Thameside Gymnastics in the Uk have advised deleting the Instagram follower: Gymlover 1233. Apparently he/she follows a lot of gymnasts and has requested photos from a young gymnast. Better safe than sorry.

Yikes!

 

[bogwoppit]

You know that deleting them will not help, they make new accounts and rejoin. No young gymnast, or child, should be on IG. Delete the frikking app for goodness sake.

What on earth is wrong with people???

These are kids, not play things.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

You know that deleting them will not help, they make new accounts and rejoin. No young gymnast, or child, should be on IG. Delete the frikking app for goodness sake.

What on earth is wrong with people???

These are kids, not play things.

Yes

As someone said. I think kids on the net publically is bad bad bad bad bad bad bad.

 

[wallinbl]

You know that deleting them will not help, they make new accounts and rejoin. No young gymnast, or child, should be on IG. Delete the frikking app for goodness sake.

What on earth is wrong with people???

These are kids, not play things.

I don't know much about InstaGram, but DD has it. What we have done is to set her account to private and impose a rule that all followers must be approved, and she has to be able to tell us who the person is in real life before they're approved. To my understanding, the only way to find her on InstaGram is by her telling you her account name or via her friends. The via friends thing is an opening, but the private setting plus our approving followers limits that risk.

If you have any feedback on that, I'd welcome it. We're trying to be balanced as best we can.

 

[bogwoppit]

I don't know much about InstaGram, but DD has it. What we have done is to set her account to private and impose a rule that all followers must be approved, and she has to be able to tell us who the person is in real life before they're approved. To my understanding, the only way to find her on InstaGram is by her telling you her account name or via her friends. The via friends thing is an opening, but the private setting plus our approving followers limits that risk.

If you have any feedback on that, I'd welcome it. We're trying to be balanced as best we can.

Wallinbi that sounds about as safe as you can get and stay on the app. I think I would not allow 13 and unders to use it, but I am uptight.

Now back to my rant and nothing to do with Wallinbi.

What I really loathe is using IG to "sell" your kid. It is beyond vile to me. When they are 18 let them choose how they handle social media in their lives, but until then, just stop it.

 

[gymbeam]

I don't know much about InstaGram, but DD has it. What we have done is to set her account to private and impose a rule that all followers must be approved, and she has to be able to tell us who the person is in real life before they're approved. To my understanding, the only way to find her on InstaGram is by her telling you her account name or via her friends. The via friends thing is an opening, but the private setting plus our approving followers limits that risk.

If you have any feedback on that, I'd welcome it. We're trying to be balanced as best we can.

the only issue i still see is that you just can't control the comments people make. even if its on someone's photo you know- you cannot control who others have allowed to follow them and comment on their stuff. i've seen some pretty ranuchy comments made on things- know what i mean? there's no real way to completely censor it and that's why mine isn't allowed to use it until at least 13. i'll evaluate her maturity level at that time and decide if, even then, she will be allowed to enter the whole SM world.

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

We have a similar set up as wallinbi: the account is private, all "followers" must be approved and must be people they (and I) know IRL and if there is ever ANYONE asking them to send ANY sort of pictures etc other than what they are already posting, they are to tell me immediately. They know that I can check it anytime and if I ever see anything I don't like, their account is gone.
ETA: my 13yo has only dance and school friends on hers, the 10yo (almost 11) has her teammates and one or two school friends, that's it.

 

[wallinbl]

the only issue i still see is that you just can't control the comments people make. even if its on someone's photo you know- you cannot control who others have allowed to follow them and comment on their stuff. i've seen some pretty ranuchy comments made on things- know what i mean? there's no real way to completely censor it and that's why mine isn't allowed to use it until at least 13. i'll evaluate her maturity level at that time and decide if, even then, she will be allowed to enter the whole SM world.

Yes, there have been two stray comments that we didn't care for. Both users were subsequently blocked. While it's unfortunate, the comments were nothing worse than anything that she's heard in middle school (the lunchroom there is about as raunchy as a Seth McFarlane movie).

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Yes, there have been two stray comments that we didn't care for. Both users were subsequently blocked. While it's unfortunate, the comments were nothing worse than anything that she's heard in middle school (the lunchroom there is about as raunchy as a Seth McFarlane movie).

This is the part that makes it so disturbing.

Yes I get kids will have to deal with all kinds of stuff and all kinds of people. Not every one is nice, as much as we wish it were so. And relationships in school are volatile to begin with. Today I like you, tomorrow I don't.

But it used to be once you left the building you could hopefully be away from it. You could physically find ways to remove yourself.

Now with SM, you can be tormented in your own home. It freaking follows you.

Little is 9. she has an IPod. She can communicate with kids we both actually know in real life. Very limited and she knows there is no expectation of privacy from us. No SM yet. Not sure when but the longer I can delay the better.

 

[sevenatenine2]

My ten year old daughter has one but I know her followers and who she follows. I didn't realize until last night though that she is looking at other pages that she doesn't follow--if that makes sense. It actually came up in a really funny way. We were at practice.

"Mom, do I have to do a cast handstand in Level 4?"
"No. Horizontal."
"Mom, did you know there's a 7 year old Level 4 named X that can do a cast handstand and has a gym at home and is a Level 4 but messed up on her back handspring at her state meet but is really, really good?"
"Actually, yes, I had heard a bit about that, thanks."

What I learned from that is that I honestly had NO IDEA that she'd been looking at those kinds of pages. She didn't follow the gymnast, the gymnast didn't follow her, but maybe some of her friends did and checked it out? I'm not sure, but she was able to give me a history and knew more about this kid than just a one time curious glance! In this case, I don't mind too much, but it gave me pause as to what ELSE she could be exposed to via IG when I thought she was just checking her folowers' account.

 

[bogwoppit]

If an account on IG is not private, then anyone can see what is on it. Kids can be looking at ANYTHING that people post publicly. Your kids account being private does not manage the content they see at all.

 

[bogwoppit]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...eate-X-rated-Instaporn-popular-photo-app.html

An old article, but worth reading.

 

[gymbeam]

yes, exactly. there is still much to be seen even when you know who you're following and who is following you. its just not a place for kids. hell, it really isn't a great pass time for adults either, truth be told! lol.

 

[sevenatenine2]

It also showed me that the parents promoting the kids via Instagram are putting those kids out there even more than the many, many followers the kids have. They really are mini celebrities.

It did open up some dialogue between my daughter and me, though. She thought the internet celebrities are cool and is a little jealous of all the attention. My daughter has state on Sunday and is a little stressed after some rough practices this week. I asked her if she was feeling some pressure and she said a little, yes. I told her if she had a bad meet, who would really know about it? Her dad and I, who love her no matter what, and her teammates, but really just her teammates who are at the meet as most of the others don't follow the scores. Then I asked her what if she had 300 THOUSAND people following her gymnastics career that were all eagerly awaiting to hear how she was going to do at state---would that give her more pressure? The look on her face when I asked that question showed me that she "got it" and that maybe all the attention and "fame" wasn't all it seemed to be. A good conversation starter!

 

[sevenatenine2]

Bog, was it also you that posted something I found really wise the other day about not posting pictures of your daughter's in leos on line? I think in the gym culture we get so used to the attire, but you're right, it can attract the bad guys. Some of the IGs I saw had kids showing off the flexibility by doing the stretch lying on their back and legs spread all the way out to middle splits. As a gymnastics enthusiast, I appreciated the stretch without thinking too much of what OTHER kinds of people might appreciate that stretch as well. It's good to be aware.

 

[wallinbl]

If an account on IG is not private, then anyone can see what is on it. Kids can be looking at ANYTHING that people post publicly. Your kids account being private does not manage the content they see at all.

Sure. DD 10 doesn't have it. DD 12 does have it. Part of that is age, and part of that is a difference between how the two handle themselves. DD 10 may not get it when she's 12, it may be later for her.

We fought against it all for a bit, but realized it may be better to monitor and guide than to have her do something to try to hide it from us. We'd rather know and be able to provide guidance than be left out. (Again, just an assessment of our kids - DD 12 will find a way to sneak it; DD 10 would feel guilty and wouldn't sneak it).

 

[kandkfunk]

It also showed me that the parents promoting the kids via Instagram are putting those kids out there even more than the many, many followers the kids have. They really are mini celebrities.

And this is one of the aspects that really disturbs me. All these little kids making these young girls celebrities. They create fan sites and beg for the little girls to follow them or talk to them. But, in most cases, it's not the seven year old little girl who is actually running the account. It's her pic, but her mom is posting. These little kids are interacting with an adult they do not know. And this is where my mind goes all Criminal Minds. What if some of these accounts (and I'm not talking about the one we've been discussing on CB this week) are actually creeper catfish. They have access to videos and pics of a young gymnast, but they are just posing as the kid or parent to attract kids. Just like last night's episode. I see the catfish stuff all the time with my teenager's friends. There have been at least five different fake SM accounts set up with their pictures in the last couple of months. It's just too easy to do.

Not to mention the warped sense of reality our kids are growing up with based on all this SM. They think these celebrity kids are normal. They want to be like them. Some of us are lucky to have open relationships with our kids so they will talk to us about this stuff, but I just get the feeling that too many people aren't paying attention to what is happening.