IF YOU ask a teen to stay off social media for a day, more than likely you'd be met with a death glare.
But one kid impressively stayed off all platforms for six years thanks to his mom's ingenious technique.
Lorna Klefsass of Minnesota told KARE 11 that she came up with the idea to pay her son Sivert $1,800 if he could stay off social media until he was 18 years old.
She called it the “18 for 18 challenge” and her son was totally on board at 12 years old.
"Being 12, I didn't really have that great of a concept of money yet. So, I was like oh sick, yeah, absolutely,” Sivert said to KARE.
Lorna explained he was planning on buying a car with his earnings, but when Sivert realized $1,800 wasn't going to cut it, he kept growing strong.
"He did really dig in. He was like ‘I'm not breaking this.’ I'm proud of him because there were a few times where it was harder,” Lorna said.
Lorna was inspired by another mom who did a "16 for 16 challenge" plus she saw firsthand the downside social media can have on her daughter.
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The mom of four explained: "She got so obsessed with keeping up her Snapchat streaks that really it was affecting her mood. It was affecting her friendships.
"I mean, it was like an intervention. She was really, really upset, but it was not even three weeks later that she thanked us and said she was so happy to not have her phone."
Now, though, her daughter has a healthy relationship with social media, and Lorna hoped the challenge would do the same with her son.
According to Sivert, the challenge paid off, literally.
"You just hear about all the stuff that goes on and just with my friends and with school, and like, ‘oh somebody said this about you’ and ‘oh somebody did that.’ And I was really spared from all that,” he explained.
Sivert also said staying off social media allowed him to focus on sports and school, which surely helped him to receive the offers to play college football he is now considering.
But after turning 18 and becoming $1,800 richer, Sivert finally took the plunge and made his own Instagram account.
"It's hilarious. I feel like I'm like 80. I can't seem to figure out social media. It's pretty embarrassing."
Additionally, a relationship coach has warned parents not to mindlessly punish their teens.
Aly Pain explained that mindlessly punishing them won’t do much in the long run and encouraged parents to instead try connecting with them with respect and trust.
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