Janet Mbugua shares how a song her son sang exposed dangers of online content
By Paulette Mboga, November 9, 2025Media personality and author Janet Mbugua has opened up about a personal experience that made her reflect on the effects of online content on children.
On Sunday, November 9, 2025, she said on social media that her seven-year-old son came home singing a song he had learned online, and while she first found it funny, she later became worried after understanding its meaning.
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Janet shared, “When my seven-year-old came home singing Tralalero Tralala, I was amused, then curious until I learned what it meant. My heart sank :(.” The experience, she said, reminded her how fast and easily digital content finds its way into homes and into the minds of young children.
According to Janet, parents need to be more alert about what their children consume online.
“It reminded me how easily the digital world seeps into our homes, our children’s minds, and our values,” she said. She added that while technology has created opportunities and easy access to information, it has also opened doors to harmful material that shapes children’s behaviour and thinking.
Online safety and GBV
Janet explained that what may appear like a harmless song can actually reveal how deep online influence runs in shaping the next generation.
“As a mother, I see how innocence meets the algorithm every day,” she said. “Technology has given us reach, but it’s on us to make it safe. Because the content they laugh at today is shaping the conscience of tomorrow.”
She went on to connect her experience to a wider discussion about online safety and Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TF-GBV).
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Janet highlighted that this is where the real battle for protecting the next generation begins. “And that’s where the battle begins: technology-facilitated gender-based violence,” she wrote.
Earlier in the week, Janet had moderated the first Africa Symposium on TF-GBV, a two-day event co-hosted by the Government of Canada, UNFPA in Benin and UNFPA in Kenya, together with the Governments of Benin and Kenya and civil society groups.
The forum discussed how technology contributes to gender-based violence and how communities can work together to make digital spaces safer. Janet’s message serves as a reminder of the need for responsible digital use, especially among children.