All parents should have a TikTok account–here’s why.
Do you have an Instagram or TikTok account? If not, I highly encourage you to get one. Yep, I said that.
Why?
Because it is the only way you will truly see what is happening on your teen’s social feed.
I do NOT recommend being sneaky and creating a fake account to follow your teen. I’ve seen this blow up into a situation that causes huge distrust between a teen and their parents.
But I do recommend having your own account and following some of the popular accounts your teen is following.
Social media is a form of freedom for your teen. What they can watch, what they can post, and who they can follow can be a great positive freedom–but it can also lead to a lot of unhealthy content being poured into their growing brain.
Fortunately, social media has taken a positive turn in the last few years from being fake, filtered bikini ads to more accounts with positive body image and identity themes. Don’t get me wrong, there are still plenty of accounts who focus on having “ the perfect skin” or being able to “get the girl” – but the amount of positive body image and self-love accounts are growing.
The solution isn’t to take your teen off social media (because we all know that is unrealistically restrictive), but instead, let’s relate to them and even suggest fun accounts for them to follow.
Do your own research and find accounts your teen may love, but here are a few I am a huge fan of that are light-hearted or include positive body image content:
For your daughter:
@amypoehlersmartgirls
For your son: