Nik Rajkovic / news@whmi.com

A seminar at Cleary Commons this week aims to give parents a better understanding of the risks of social media on your child.

Adjunct professor Angela McBride is presenting the free event dubbed "What Kids Won’t Tell You: The Truth About Their Social Media Lives" in partnership with Shane Coyle of Child Safety Soldiers and Genesee Human Oppression Strike Teams (GHOST).

"They are being bullied. There are hate crimes. The sextortion is real. The artificial intelligence is absolutely terrifying. It's scary. I'm scared for the schools," McBride told WHMI News.

A question and answer portion will feature Coyle, Isaac Kwiatkowski, detective trooper specialist from the Cyber Section Intelligence Operations Division of the Michigan State Police, along with Madison Lewis and Kristin Dike, analysts with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

"I've spent the past couple of months speaking with the Livingston County Sheriff's Office, giving me amounts of information of what's really going on in our community," says McBride, who experienced the dangers of social media with her own daugther.
"It comes back to one thing, social media, and parents need to be involved. They have no clue what their kids are doing. And if you think your kid isn't saying those things, they probably are."
Thursday's seminar is 7pm-9pm at Cleary Commons off Grand River in Howell. Due to the nature of the discussion, it is only open to those 18 and older.

"Even having the basic understanding of how these platforms work. TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram. Parents do not go on them and look at them and what their kids are doing. Their profile names. The pictures. The groups they're joining. Their friends list. Maybe it's a bot profile. Maybe that's a predator that's grooming your daughter, but you think it's a kid," says McBride.

No registration is necessary. To learn more about the program, contact McBride at amcbride@mycleary.edu.