Propaganda affecting ordinary students in negative ways

How to start? Ok so a while ago I get a call from the high school counselor, she tells me that 'someone' in the senior class has put on his Fb account last night that he was uncertain about his future, that he was not even sure if life was worth living and had no future plans or hope to attend college.

They took this as dangerous to himself and possibly others so a community alert was being sent out to find out who wrote this and to get an intervention going.

The counselor then told me that last week a teacher reported to her that during an assignment where she verbally asked all the kids what they want to be when they leave school, my son said "An assassin".

I assured her that was my sons form of tongue and cheek and that he could have said anything.

When he got home a few minutes ago I told him and he said well I should have said porn star or magical unicorn!

The kid has a great sense of humor!

Anyway back to the telephone conversation...

We hang up only after she grills me on his plans for the future and after graduation...

So I begin to wonder if he may have written something that may have been alarming, so I peek at his fb page...

He is such a cool kid! No problems there but that does not mean with his artistic flair that there couldn't have been.

Anyway, I call her back and tell her that even though I normally do not invade his privacy and that I trust him to conduct himself appropriately online, his fb page was actually something any parent would be proud of with all the comments from fellow students about how much he is there for them and a great support, a joy to see in the halls.

So, why am I still upset?

For one thing, it is getting way out of hand when a student cannot have a private place to rant and spill ideas, vent the day without alerts being sent out. This was not the case today but it could have been, and that does not mean that he is going to go shoot people in public places or himself! He is a teenage young man, he has a right to some social interaction online without being spied on by students and faculty!

Last year he raised some eyebrows and did cause a community alert when after breaking up with his sweetheart said a comment that had everyone thinking he had done himself in. In the comment he said I feel like dying right now. BFD!!! He was VENTING on paper, in his private world, or so he thought.

So, how far will this go? How much worse can it get? Kids today do not live in a 1950's leave it to beaver environment, they are smart and informed and have opinions! They have the right to voice those opinions without fear of reprisal.

I could go on but will stop for now, but this just concerns me.

No one has any expectation of privacy on fb, please! Young people need to understand that these days certain things spoken of publicly will have consequences. Your son is allowed his life, but just like you cannot say 'bomb' on a plane, you cannot say die or kill on fb. People, rightly or wrongly are trying to prevent suicides, bullying and mass murders, blame the killers and kids who killed themselves, because they all talked about on fb first.

Educate your child it is a new world, if he wants to vent, talk to a friend or you face to face and not the whole world on fb.

reply to post by antar


OP, I don't see anything wrong with what your son said. Everyone has bad days, so what? It doesn't mean we are all going to go out on shooting sprees. He broke up with his girlfriend and he felt like dying? Pretty common.

I would remind your son that facebook is a public forum and advise him to get a diary or journal.

UGH don't put him on SSRIs. Too many kids are on that crap for no good reason and look at the consequences. Peace

reply to post by HamrHeed


Not to worry. We are natural for the most part.

reply to post by SepticSheepHerder


Good idea, he does love to write, but his style is not what the school understands. He is really good, but his stuff can be way off the main stream. Maybe he will enter the short story forum sometime, I tried to encourage it at one time without pushing and he said he would one day.

reply to post by Iamschist


Good suggestion, seems even phone conversations theses days can be intercepted. I can't remember the rest of what you said, lol, sounded like advice I have already given him though.

I figured people might post reminders about FB and what 'we' know about it, I have spared my kids some of that truthfulspiracy for the time being but will have to let them in on it to save them from becoming unnecessary targets of the online witch hunts.

It is sad that they do not get the ones who are mentally unstable but waste energy on otherwise good kids who think they can vent online in the "privacy" of their own social media page...