Rafael: During my interview with Taymon Lawson, we spoke about his experiences being raised in a single parent household. One of the most interesting points that came up pretty briefly, but I felt still needed to be shared, were his thoughts on how social media and the internet are transforming the way that children are being raised.

Rafael: You know, we’re the product of our single mothers that raised us, you know, for whatever it may be, and there’s a whole other generation out there that are being raised that way as well. And It’s difficult, man. But, like, now with the internet and stuff – and all these resources that weren’t available to our mothers – do you think it’s getting easier, or do you think it’s going to be a struggle that’s going to be persistent, you feel me?

Taymon: It’s gonna be harder, dog.

Rafael: You think so?

Taymon: You gotta realize that the internet – wait you talking to me?

Rafael: Yeah, yeah, yeah, go ahead.

Taymon: Oh I said, yeah man, it’s gonna be harder. You realize man – you said we didn’t have the privilege of the internet as kids you know? But these kids have the privilege of having the internet now and they’re going to be seeing things that they shouldn’t be seeing. So basically, they’re being raised by their mother, but at the same time they’re being raised by the influence of social media.

Rafael: The introduction of technology into the household is one of great advantage of course, but is also one that’s going to affect households that are ran by a single parent in a pretty big way. Single parents don’t always have the time to check on what their children are doing, and often times, they’re not super technology savvy either. It’s going to introduce challenges that these parents are going to have to overcome in the future, and it’s something we should definitely take note of.