You don't need a social science degree to work out that social media leads to dangerous grooming, bullying, radicalising, manipulation, procrastination, delusional attitudes, withdrawal and stunted social skills.

The contemporary teenager is flotsam for mass manipulation and mass hysteria. They are vulnerable to the alienation of peers and estrangement from family, which can lead to eating disorders, depression, isolation and other serious consequences.

The internet can both empower and destroy the user. It can prey on the gullible adolescent. That kids at primary school level have open access to social media via their own smart phone, often ostensibly for safety reasons, is frightening.

Is it any wonder that radical organisations engaged in terrorism have found the internet to be a powerful weapon in combating the military might of the West. They can't bomb their opponents with the sophistication that we can, but they can deliver deadly blows through the grooming of our kids. What better way to fight the enemy than from within?

The internet is dumbing down our kids. Feeding them questionable online information and history, because advanced search engines can unearth untested information in a flash.

It is turning our kids into social outcasts, guided and influenced by online factors way beyond the inquisitive reach of worried parents.

And if parents seek to engage and inquire, they can be so easily dismissed or shut out by the cliquey, distant world of social media. Most parents lack the skills or understanding to compete.

Not long ago, parents were urged to keep track of what their kids were doing on the internet. Now, it is so advanced they have absolutely no chance.