Coastal Mississippi is known for its ample sun and sand, entertainment and gaming, and of course, the bounty of fresh seafood brought in daily from the Mississippi Sound and Gulf of Mexico. In fact, a century ago, Biloxi earned the nickname “seafood capital of the world” when it produced more than 20 million pounds of shrimp and oysters every year.

Sharing stories from the front lines of parenthood with fellow soldiers is a pastime honored through the generations. In the age of social media and the wide-open internet, though, the stakes for parents and kids are higher than ever.

Your home is your sanctuary. And for kids and teens, it’s especially important to have a safe haven where they can feel comfortable, away from the pressures they can encounter at school and social gatherings.

Just when your kids are beginning to formulate their own opinions and live the values learned from parents and peers, the internet is waiting to challenge them.

Study after study has linked social media use to the prevalence of mental health issues such as anxiety and depression in teenagers. That should come as no surprise to parents who have entered parenthood in the social media age. Social platforms like Instagram, Discord and Facebook can be like a school playground on steroids, where bullying, envy, peer pressure and other pitfalls can fester.

Are the people your kids and teens chat with online in apps like Instagram, Discord and Snapchat friends or foes? BFFs or bullies? Sometimes relationships can change quickly, especially during the adolescent years when our kids are learning about themselves and the world around them.