I'm very worried about it, but due to the fact that most parents, including my own BF refuses to see anyone else's side or take anyone else's advice other than his own, it isn't going to change. When my dd was growing up, she had access to the internet, but I always had a net nanny type of software on the computer so she was limited to not only the websites that she could go to, but also the times that she could access the internet. If she wanted to add any additional websites, I had to approve them. She also did not get her own cell phone until she was in her teens and then, it was only a dumb phone until she turned 16 and she got an iPhone for Christmas, but it was under the agreement that she was to have a job and pay for the data plan/ messaging. Parents nowadays just want to give kids everything and not deal with the ramifications from it. My BF not only lets his 10yr old have unlimited 24/7 access to the internet without watching what he is doing, but his 12 year old has had an iPhone for 2 years now. When all of these kids are older teens, young adults or even to the point that they are running businesses and the country, I hope I'm not around because it just sickens me.

BF gave me the silent treatment yesterday because I called him a Disney dad. lol

For anyone that watched the Miss USA pageant last night, this was also one of the questions for the girls at the end about whether social media and the increased use of electronics nowadays for kids has caused a self absorbed, entitled generation. At least the young girl in the pageant agreed!

You know, I didn't know what "Creepy Pasta" was. Just checked it out. My skid went as Slenderman for Halloween two years ago. How about me and DH are clueless?????

I actually like creepy pasta but, but as with all internet forum board sites, the ratio of good posts there is horribly outweighed by the bad. The Slender man is EXTREMELY popular among the kids at my SS's school. You'll note that creepy pasta no longer accepts writing submissions on the subject of Slender Man. SS went out dressed like him last Halloween. This is the same kid who absolutely HATED horror movies when I first met him.

Do I hate the fact that he may be reading creepy stuff like that found on creepy pasta? I dunno. SS's comp teacher said "I don't care if kids these days read Manga. As long as they READ!"

However, I want to address the first point of your post about the dependency on today's youth and electronics. The University of Maryland has already done a study on this. They took 100 people between the ages of 15 and 25 and told them that for ONE WHOLE WEEK, they were not allowed using the internet, cell phones or any kind of electronic medium. The only thing they were allowed, were LAN line phones. Out of the 100 people, over half of them complained of withdrawl symptoms (headaches, anxiety, hunger pangs, sleeplessness, etc). In one case, it got so bad, a subject had to be excused from the study after a just two days. So yes, the dependency of today's youth on the electronic medium is staggering and it will only grow as faster, more efficient and smaller scale electronic devices are being made readily available.