MOTLEY, Minn. — One week ago, KARE 11 aired a story about a mother in Motley Minnesota who challenged her son to stay off social media until he was 18.
Lorna Klefsaas offered her then 12-year-old son Sivert $1,800 to stay off social media until his 18th birthday.
Sivert kept his promise and just earned himself $1,800 from his mother.
The story has since gone viral, with CNN, Good Morning America, and countless other media outlets picking up the story.
Even influencers on TikTok have picked up the story.
"Then it started going international, which we cannot believe,” Klefsaas says.
With media outlets from Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and Germany, all interested in the story.
And besides reporters and producers reaching out, Klefsaas has heard from hundreds of parents who love the idea and want to do a similar challenge with their kids.
“That has been probably the best part about all of this, the parents reaching out who are interested in this idea and how to handle social media with their young kids,” Klefsaas.
“I think as parents we see social media as sort of inevitable with our kids and that we don’t have much power over it, but we do have the power to help our kids navigate through it and understand it.”
However, not every parent has reached out with praise.
Some parents have reached out to her in shear desperation.
“A lot of people have reached out saying what crisis their kids are in and asking if I have any advice,” Klefsaas explains.
“That's been sobering to me, like people are so looking for help that they're going to reach out to someone who made up a challenge in her kitchen."
So far, she says going viral has been a lot of fun, but along with the good, comes the bad.
"We're experiencing the other side of social media too. There's just been a lot of mean comments and a lot of things posted,” Klefsaas says.
"This is making my point. Right? I mean, this is literally making my point, that I just didn't want that in his life. Right now, he reads the comments, and he laughs. I read them and feel a little badly, but I think that's the difference between 12 and 18. I don't know if he would have laughed at 12."
Because words hurt, and for a young kid they can hurt even more.
Which is why Klefsaas is hoping the big takeaway from this story is for parents to just think about social media and its place in their kids’ lives.
They don't need to issue a challenge to keep them away from it, just to have a conversation with their kids and to find something that fits them.
"If it helps another family, we're just delighted. I would just be thrilled to think that we're a part of some family's success in handling social media."