My 15 year old has had major mental crises because of online bullying via Discord app. We’ve had to cut them off form using it because while it was a great tool for connecting with teens with similar unique interests, it also ends up being an unmoderated toxic environment for bored teenagers. It’s been a month of being free from this app (and detox for my teen because they really were addicted to being online all of the time bc of the pandemic) and they just found a way to access the app again against our rules. How do you respond to this active defiance if punishments can add fuel to the fire? We’ve tried helping them moderate themself, but it has failed several times over the last two years. They become obsessed over bullying interactions and have had several visits to the hospital for suicide ideation because of not being able to handle it. We do allow other messaging apps that are easily moderated so they aren’t totally cut off from online hobby communities, but Discord is a whole other world.

Posted by mommateach at 2022-09-30 01:33:33 UTC