Kids don’t always know when to ask for help or when they’re in over their heads, which is why Bark is so important for families. Bark does this for many different types of dangers - not just drugs - including sexual content, online predators, suicidal ideation, threats of violence, bullying, and more. Bark’s advanced monitoring technology enables parents to get alerts for potential issues on their children’s devices, texts, emails, and social media accounts.įor example, if a child were DMing someone about buying drugs using one of the slang emojis discussed above, it could be flagged and sent to the parent, enabling them to intervene and get the child help. Berman’s petition is to convince big social media companies to allow third-party services like Bark to work on their platforms. Sign the petition How Bark Can Help Families Protect Their Kids The more people sign this petition, the more likely these big social media companies are to take notice and institute changes so parents can better protect their kids online. Berman started the #LetParentsProtect movement and petition. To help raise awareness - and to help prevent other families from going through what her family has experienced - Dr. Social media poses incredible dangers to kids online - and many big social media companies like Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok refuse to let third parties like Bark monitor their children’s activities on their platforms. Sadly, Sammy’s story isn’t an isolated incident. Berman and her husband experienced every parent’s worst pain - the loss of their son. What Sammy took turned out to be a lethal dose of fentanyl, and he had no idea he was taking it. Later on, the dealer dropped off drugs to Sammy at their house. On February 7, 2021, a drug dealer reached out to Dr. One Mother Stands Up to Big Social Media to #LetParentsProtect Drug dealers are also fluent in how kids talk about drugs and use this to their advantage. revealed that one in four young people has seen illicit drugs advertised for sale on social media.īut perhaps the most frightening thing is how easily kids can purchase drugs thanks to technology. They can be ordered in a matter of seconds on social media and then delivered as easily as a pizza. Exposure is rampant on content-producing platforms like TikTok and Instagram, where references sneak into videos, captions, comments, and even the songs played in the background.
In Bark’s 2020 research on children and technology, our team found that 78.0% of tweens and 91.1% of teens engaged in conversations surrounding drugs/alcohol. Drug Use Is More Common Than Parents Think - And More Dangerous
A drug-themed social media post may make it past community guidelines, spreading more information about these illicit substances. A transaction on Venmo may look completely innocent when in reality it’s a drug dealer’s receipt. These emojis can look like ordinary, harmless symbols, which means parents may easily overlook them. Kids today talk about drugs in a way that adds a new twist, using a language they’re fluent in - emojis.
**This blog post was updated on October 25, 2021.**Įvery generation has its own drug slang, and the terms and shorthand change with every passing decade.