American History and Institutions Courses.My youngest girl is 13 and thank heavens isn’t very interested in social media because I know this is more prevalent than we would like to believe. We have had these conversations in my household and thankfully my boys don’t view women in that light (but they are 18 and 21 and really would rather not bother with girls). I don’t believe that boys this age are necessarily “okay” with equating a girl with a numerical value and most, if not all, middle school boys are grounded nor mature. In the first part you are stating that most boys that age really don’t think seriously about what they say online, and I would say that most boys aren’t seriously thinking about the impact that this can have on young girls (this doesn’t necessarily make them the types of boys that aren’t grounded or mature enough to be trusted, it just means they are in middle school ). Time out on that statement I totally agree with this article, but I find the above statement a bit out of line.
“Most boys that age really don’t THINK seriously about what they say online, and if they are okay equating a girl with a numerical value, they certainly aren’t the types of boys who are grounded or mature enough to be trusted.” I Left My Phone at Home, The Results Were Priceless OurPact: The App Every Parent Needs to Know Aboutĩ Things You Need to Know Before You Sign Your Child Up For Instagram To read more about technology, check out these articles:ġ0 Things I Wish I Would Have Done Before Getting My Child a Smartphone They are people, friends, daughters and sisters who will one day be colleagues, spouses and mothers. Remind them that girls are never objects to be rated. Promise them that this is always a losing situation, regardless of circumstance or age. Most boys that age really don’t THINK seriously about what they say online, and if they are OK equating a girl with a numerical value, they certainly aren’t the types of boys who are grounded or mature enough to be trusted with fragile self-esteem.If you have boys, please tell them to steer clear of games like these. I’m giving her a 4, doesn’t matter how pretty she is.” “She is kind of a jerk and keeps ignoring me.She is better than average, average is a 5. Remind her that basing how she feels about herself on what middle-school boys and girls think is positively crazy.įor example, most boys, upon viewing a post like that, will think one of three things: Encourage her to remember her own divinity, to find something she is passionate about and have confidence in her own style, so she doesn’t erroneously think that being pretty and having worth go hand in hand. Discuss the power she can have when she refuses to let others dictate her value. Tell her that this game has no place in her world. If you have a daughter, check her posts, read her texts, talk to her about self-worth and real beauty. Those superficial ratings become gospel - regardless of talents, abilities or intelligence, she is a 9 and you are a 6. What if I went through life thinking I was about a 6? Would I have lived my life like a 6?Īdding insult to injury is the fact that every middle-school girl has a “prettier” friend who of course pulls in 9s and 10s. I can then see myself, with unfounded confidence, posting that picture, only to see numbers roll in from people who are just as insecure as I am. It can be found on Instagram, Snapchat and through text message.Ĭan we please encourage our children to stop playing this game? I can just imagine my awkward, middle-school self with curly bangs in a denim striped shirt buttoned to the top, taking a picture with amateur make-up, zits and braces, trying desperately to get a photo at the perfect angle so I might look prettier than I ever really was. The idea is to post your cutest possible selfie, then ask your “friends” to rate your hotness on a scale from 1-10. This is a favorite in the middle school arena. I told him to say, “You are so much more than a number, so I don’t want to play that game.” He did, and her reply was something like, “Oh, OK.” Maybe a bit deep for seventh grade, but I promise she will thank me later. I said a quick, silent prayer of gratitude that his little heart understood that something about her question was a bit off and he was not prepared to answer it.