(We Chinese in America Media Editor Tang Zhao, February 28, 2022) A Minnesota mother asked her son to stay away from social media for six years, and his son fulfilled the agreement. (Photo taken from Facebook)

A Minnesota mother tried to find a unique way to protect her 12-year-old son from social media many years ago. She paid her son $1,800 to stay away from Instagram, Facebook, or other social media for six years. Enjoy his teenage years without extra pressure; this six-year deal expires on the 19th of this month.

The mother, Lorna Klefsaas, said she had four children and saw how stressful, anxious, and hurt social media was for them, so she was looking for ways to keep her youngest son, Sievert. Sivert from it.

Clivesas offered his son an amount, the number was the age at which he could return to social media - 18; Sievert agreed immediately; on the 19th, Sievert turned 18, and the agreement between mother and son followed end.

At 12, Seifert said, $1,800 felt like a lot; he only had a Snapchat account before taking on the challenge set by his mother, which he deleted.

Seifert admitted that he wanted to break the contract. For example, he encountered difficulties when he met new friends and the only way to contact him was Snap. He also sometimes missed some jokes and failed to keep up with the trend of the Douyin platform, but he always found a way to overcome it, and his friends also Keep him out of touch.

Sievert currently has Snapchat and Instagram accounts; the challenge, he said, has allowed him to see friends being consumed by social media and find people being mean and hurting others on social media.

Researchers and the news media have well documented the negative effects of social media on young people, including triggering jealousy and depression, fueling cyberbullying, and spreading suicidal thoughts; but other research has shown that when people present themselves honestly on social media, they tend to feel More social support can help reduce stress.

Social media is great, Seifert said, but there are other more important things in life, and it's not a problem to leave.

(Source: Compiled from Online Information)