Should the world follow Australia’s lead and ban social media for children under 16?
THINK PAD
Australia has decided to tackle a worldwide dilemma head on. The nation is taking a major step to protect children and put the minds of parents at ease by implementing a social media ban for children under the age of 16 years. On a number of occasions this year, Australian ministers met and discussed the proposition, ultimately approving the law last month. I commend Australia for this remarkable step and would like to see other countries follow suit.
Although the Internet as a whole can be a very dark and damaging place for people of all ages, putting some limits for children on one aspect – that is, social media – is likely to make a difference. Research has shown time and again that social media can cause depression and anxiety in even adults as they begin to compare themselves with peers who seemingly have it all, as their posts and photos on social media will depict. Imagine the impact of the same on young, impressionable minds. Comparison with seemingly better off peers harbours jealousy, sadness, and dissatisfaction in young people.
Furthermore, photoshopped images of celebrities and influencers cause young people to feel bad about their own appearance whilst they are still growing and will likely see many changes in their bodies and faces over time. These young persons may attempt drastic measures to change their looks, for example, by developing eating disorders.
Instead of focusing on studies, creative pursuits, and physical activities, young people are now glued to their social media pages, commenting and arguing on pointless issues. Using social media early on may cause a child to obsess over likes, which are pretty insignificant if we really think about it. Likes are simply a temporary hit of dopamine in the brain which makes one crave more of the same.
The pursuit of productivity and respect should be instilled in youngsters, and they should be taught to chase what really matters in life. Instead of developing social skills and fostering real friendships, children will prefer to hide behind a screen, and this is likely to create problems with communicating and socializing down the line in the real world.
A great deal of time is wasted on social media for which one has nothing to show after hours of use. In fact, people often get off social media feeling terrible because they saw something they didn’t like or had an argument with someone.
Bullying, another problem that most dramatically affects children, can be aggravated on social media, as children gang up against a specific peer from school, the neighbourhood, or any other given place. Cyberbullying has caused several youngsters to take their own life. It takes just a few hours for a reputation to be destroyed as information, whether true or false, goes viral over social media. The cancel culture on social media, where an individual is boycotted for a certain reason is vicious because the victim could be completely innocent or have committed a genuine mistake but there is no way to stop the avalanche of hatred once it gets rolling.
The anonymity the Internet provides makes many people absolute monsters online. Moreover, harmful words, behaviour, ideologies, trends, challenges, and products are often disseminated through social media. Over the past few years, dangerous challenges have cropped up on different social media apps, with youngsters jumping on the bandwagon, in a bid to impress their peers. During younger years, the approval of friends and peers is the most important thing for children, and they might put themselves in harm’s way to gain recognition. Due to the fact that the mind is not fully developed, children are very vulnerable and can take wrong decisions.
The Internet, despite its abundance of information, entertainment, and opportunity, is unfortunately not safe from people with malicious intent. There is no shortage of predators searching for youngsters online, and social media provides the best opportunity. Several TV shows warn against such degenerates by catching them with decoys, when the former have used social media to interact with those that they believe are children and gone to meet them. Thereby a young person can be kidnapped, trafficked, or abused.
Australia, thank you for showing that you care about your children. Other nations, are you watching?
