Join on WhatsApp
Join on Telegram
Casablanca – The digital age doesn’t come with a parenting manual. However, on Thursday at WeMeet AnfaPlaca Casablanca, TikTok’s Family Academy brought experts, educators, journalists, and families together in an attempt to write one.
Under the motto #SaferTogether, the event brought together a diverse panel of experts to navigate the complex terrain of parenting, education, mental health, and digital identity.
Moderated by TV host Samid Ghailan, the discussion featured interventions from psychotherapist and member of MENAT SAC Myriam Bahri, President and Founder of the Moroccan Center of Polytechnic Research and Innovation CMRPI Youssef Bentaleb, Education Consultant and Journalist Myriam Ezzakhraji, and Raghdah Alazab, Head of Communications at TikTok MENA.
“We can’t prohibit it anymore,” said Alazab, “Social media use is inevitable. Safety is a never-ending race, and we need the support of parents and professionals to keep up.”
That statement set the tone for a conversation that quickly expanded beyond platform tools and algorithms. Speakers emphasized that the real challenge is not banning apps or controlling kids, but building trust, teaching critical thinking, and creating spaces for conversations at home, in classrooms, and across society.
While much of the conversation centered around family dynamics, speakers didn’t shy away from broader concerns. Youssef Bentaleb underlined the urgency of digital identity protection in Morocco, citing a new wave of cyberbullying, fake news, and misinformation that directly impacts youth mental health and civic awareness.
“We’ve moved from material to non-material monitoring,” Bentaleb explained. “We need a digital literacy culture that includes parents, teachers, and policymakers.”
Myriam Ezzakhraji took that point further, highlighting the dangers of treating social media as a “digital enemy” rather than a tool. “The real threat isn’t the internet, it’s the negative uncritical consumption of the internet,” she said, calling for a national media education agency to integrate media literacy into Moroccan schools and train adults to assess and challenge the information they consume.
Myriam Bahri brought a psychological lens to the conversation, warning of the emotional impact of online overstimulation and harmful content.
“Our teens are spending an average of 3.5 hours a day on social media,” Bahri noted, pointing out the rising levels of anxiety, body image issues, disordered eating, and cyberbullying, some of which stem from content unintentionally shared by parents themselves. “We need to lead by example, not by control,” Bahri emphasized. “And we need to create safe, everyday spaces for dialogue, even two minutes in the car talking about a song on TikTok can build trust.”
While TikTok’s Family Pairing tool and screen time controls like the Time Away feature were discussed as helpful measures, speakers agreed that technology alone isn’t enough. The solution lies in shared responsibility. Schools, families, creators, platforms, and institutions each have a role to play in shaping digital awareness.
“We need to stop acting out of fear,” Bahri said. “Instead of demonizing trends, let’s ask our kids to teach us what they know.”
Beyond the data and tech talk, cultural context was a recurring theme. When discussions touched on exposure to ideas that clash with Moroccan traditions, the tone shifted from critique to care.
“We must support diversity, but also respect the secular values and cultural fabric of our country,” said Bentaleb. He, like others, urged for nuance in how Morocco approaches global digital narratives.
And following the words of Myriam Ezzakhraji, it’s not just about what we shield our kids from, it’s about what we teach them to see: “Show them interesting things on social media, #booktok for example, utilize these tools for good.”
