Shadow work refers to reflection onto that which we may not see about ourselves. In this simple exercise, we will be asking questions, otherwise known as the Socratic Method, also referred to by Larken Rose, as the Candles In The Dark Method. For the youth, what are we doing on social media? How many children end up getting hurt, or trafficked simply by having online access or playing online games and being contacted through chats in the games? Where are the parents? Why are we, their parents, their protectors, not caring about what our children are doing online? Why do small children have access to games while connected to Wifi? There is a way to protect them! Download the games onto a tablet. Turn off Wifi, and if the games don't work without an online connection, perhaps find alternatives. What about family playing together? What about playing in nature?
Or nonetheless, maintain open dialogue between you and your child. This keeps children safe, and is simple enough for any parent to do. TikTok, Facebook, Twitter (X), Instagram and other social media sites can be influential in not the best of ways for children anyway. Why harm them with that content when we simply need to start caring, be there for them and protect them? If we, as adults, as parents, don’t protect our children, who will? Why would we want to put social media in charge of raising our children and influencing their young innocent minds to the point of suicide or other horrible things? We need to remember that if we stop caring, our children will be destroyed by the influences that they are exposed to online, in school, or somewhere else.
Protect your children. It is your responsibility! A shared care for one another, a bond can be formed. What does responsibility mean? The ability to respond. Do you have the ability to respond when your child could be at risk of online harm? And remember, if our children experience trauma because of social media influence, their young minds will struggle to mature as they age. They will be stuck in childhood, even after they become an adult. Is it worth it? Even without social media, children are having so much peer pressure and stress. Why would we want to double or triple their stress? Children long for direction, love, hugs, caring, and spending time with those they love. Social media could never give them what they truly need. But we, we can give them what they truly need. Children deserve to raised by caring people, not by devices.
Now for adults, do you know an adult that seems stuck in life? It could be you. Where did they get stuck? Imagine our life is like a chapter book. Now you may have many chapters of your book that are already written and finished as well. But for some, eventhough lots of chapters are finished, there may be one or two chapters that just wont stay closed! Why? Because there wasn’t closure. It keeps popping open to that same place, and oh how frustrating that can be! So if you happen to have a chapter that keeps opening up with memories that can’t be put away and left alone, maybe some healing needs to be done. Or maybe there needs to be an important talk with a specific person that is in that chapter of your life? Or you need to figure out what went wrong there? If we can finish each chapter, then our focus can be much clearer moving forward!