Mom pays teen son $1,800 to stay off social media for 6 years

Lorna Klefsaas paid her teen son, Sivert, $1,800 to stay off social media for six years.  (Lorna Klefsaas)MOTLEY, Minn. - A mother had a unique idea to get her son to enjoy his teenage years without the added pressure of Instagram, Facebook, or any other apps.She paid him $1,800 to stay off social media for six years.

Lorna Klefsaas of Motley, Minnesota, said she heard about a similar challenge before propositioning her then 12-year-old son, Sivert, the youngest of four children. "I was already a little sensitive to social media since his siblings had struggled with it a bit," Lorna told FOX Television Stations. "I watched social media cause stress, anxiety and hurt feelings in my other kids and I loved the idea of coming up with a way to spare Sivert from that."She came up with the monetary amount to reflect the age at which he could re-join social media.

She said her son agreed immediately. The deal ended this past Saturday when Sivert turned 18 years old. RELATED: Facebook whistleblower says platform making online hate worse"When I was 12 I thought $1,800 was A LOT of money!!" Sivert told FOX Television Stations. "I had big plans for what I was going to buy!"Facebook’s head of safety was questioned by senators in a hearing on its products’ effects on kids' wellbeing, following revelations in September that executives had known Instagram was harming the mental health of some children.

Marc Berkman joins us.Sivert said before the challenge, he only had a Snapchat account but deleted it after one day. The teenager said it wasn’t too difficult to stay off social media.