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SPOTLIGHT - Collin Kartchner

Have You Heard of Collin Kartchner?

I want to spotlight an advocate for social media and kids.  His name is Collin Kartchner.  Have you heard of him?  If not, hopefully, I will give you enough information that you will want to go and listen to him speak or watch his ted talk.  He is amazing and offers some great advice to parents on how to help manage your children on social media and electronic devices.

Background

In 2017 Collin Kartchner started an Instagram account solely to make fun of social media and the toxic perfectionism it portrayed.  After running into an old friend at a gas station and finding out that their child has committed suicide because of the pressure of social media, he started a non-profit orgainization called #savethekids #savetheparents.  Its main focus is to help kids and parents fight the negative effects of social media and screen addiction.      

Right now Collin travels to different middle schools or high schools and speaks to the children in an assembly at school.  Later that same evening he addresses the parents and helps them understand what they can do to help their children with social media concerns.  He does this because he is on a mission to save teens from social media's potential destruction to their self-esteem and mental health.  He also wants parents to reconnect with their children and be accountable for their actions with social media as well.    

On July 9, 2019 Collin was invited to give a TED talk and address these issues and concerns.
Part of his TED talk, he asks a group of middle school-aged children to fill in the blank on a piece of paper that said, " One of the things my parents don't know about social media is  _____?"

These were the responses.....

"It's just a fun way to talk to my friends"

"No one really cares about anything"

"Is how much I love it and hate it at the same time"

"That they are blocked"

"How fake it is.  I have never really struggled with fakeness on Instagram, but my mom sure does"

"How addictive and awful it is"

"It makes me very very very insecure"

"It makes me sad and depressed"

This makes me really sad to read these responses.  Being a parent, I would hate for any of these comments to belong to one of my children.  

Collin goes on to talk about the things we can do to help our children with social media issues and how we as parents can influence them by our example.  That's why I LOVE him! 
To view the full talk TED Talk you can visit this link

TED TALK BY COLLIN KARTCHNER

If I could give you any advice, you need to go see him talk.  Take your kids with you.  It is life-changing.

You can visit this link to see when and where he will be speaking
  



Comments

  1. Mikaela DahlOctober 31, 2019 at 2:30 PM

    I loved this post about Collin Kartchner. He came and spoke during my senior year of high school and I really enjoyed hearing him speak. He is an inspiring speaker and he helped me to realize that I need to limit the time I spend on social media. He inspired me to only spend a maximum of 30 minutes each day on social media and it has really shown a difference in my life. I’m able to be more focused on what is happening in my life, rather than what is happening on social media. I think it’s great that you bring awareness to what Collin has to offer as he is very inspirational. Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Edna GarciaOctober 31, 2019 at 2:34 PM

    Wow! The amount of credible and benefical information in this is insane! Your blog is so relevant in today's society. I think the topic of social media is so important and should be talked more! I love how you implement really good information to help others. You are doing so great on this blog! You know what is up! Just keep it up because I really think it's great for others to read and know about!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Natsumi RuizOctober 31, 2019 at 2:40 PM

    I think its great that you have a blog to help other parents and spread awareness. Its really cool that your posts are meaningful. I love watching TEDtalks so I will have to add this to my list. Social media is such a hot topic and it’s important to really be wary and look into it.

    ReplyDelete

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