Mother pays son $1,800 after he completes six-year challenge to stay off social media until 18th birthday

An 18 year old has become $1,800 wealthier after he fulfilled a promise to his mother to stay off social media until his 18th birthday.

Sivert Klefsaas, from Minnesota, was 12 years old when his mother Lorna Klefsaas came to him with the proposal, which she called the “18-for-18 challenge,” according to Kare11.

According to Lorna, she decided to propose the challenge after seeing her daughter struggle with social media, and after she heard a story on the radio about another mother proposing a similar goal.

“She got so obsessed with keeping up her Snapchat streaks that really it was affecting her mood. It was affecting her friendships,” Lorna recalled of her older child’s experience with social media while speaking to Kare11. “I mean, it was like an intervention. She was really, really upset, but it was not even three weeks later that she thanked us and said she was so happy to not have her phone.”

It was then that Lorna approached her son about the challenge, which Sivert recalled he immediately agreed to, as “being 12, I didn’t really have that great of a concept of money yet”.

“So, I was like oh sick, yeah, absolutely,” he recalled laughing, while the pair remembered that Sivert had hoped to buy a car with his earnings once he’d successfully completed the challenge.

According to Lorna, she was confident her son would be able to fulfill the challenge but did note that there were a few times where it was “harder”.

However, she told the outlet that she “knew for sure he was going to make it”.

As for Sivert’s experience he acknowledged that he was “spared from” a lot of the negativity that comes with social media usage, especially among young people.

“You just hear about all the stuff that goes on and just with my friends and with school, and like: ‘oh somebody said this about you’ and ‘oh somebody did that.’ And I was really spared from all that,” Sivert said.

However, he also revealed that he downloaded Instagram as soon as he turned 18, before joking that he feels like he’s 80 years old because he is struggling to figure out how to use the platform.

Despite the technical difficulties that he is now experiencing with his first social media accounts, Sivert told the outlet that he thinks the challenge was “worth it”.

“On the whole I would say totally worth it. I mean, I would do it again,” he said.

On Facebook, where Lorna shared a photo of Sivert holding his phone and a check after he successfully completed the challenge, she called it some of the best money she’s ever spent. “Six years ago I offered Sivert $1,800 to stay off social media until he was 18. Even though $1,800 is a lot more to a 12 year old than it is to an 18 year old, he has stuck to our deal,” Lorna wrote. “He turns 18 tomorrow. He will have $1,800 in his pocket and new accounts on Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter! FYI - it’s some of the best money I have ever spent!!!”

The post prompted support from Lorna’s followers, many of who applauded her for suggesting the challenge.

“This is awesome in so many ways,” one person wrote, while another commented: “This is awesome! I might steal this parenting hack.”

From detrimental impacts on human connection to lower self-esteem, there are a number of ways that social media can negatively affect mental health.

The Independent has contacted Lorna for comment.