Source: Photo by Magnus Mueller: https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-hand-holding-a-black-smartphone-2818118/
Children are the future of this world yet sadly the world that we live in is not so bright or welcoming shall I say and then enter the world of Social Media which has a cancerous impact on our children.
It is so harmful that I have curated a list of 11 reasons as to why Social media is a poison for children.
But before we delve into that I am gonna shamelessly name the specific social media websites that have had problems in the past or are still having these very same problems in the present. all come in the top 20 of the world wide most-used websites in 2022 (source is Statista).
- TikTok
- YouTube
Social Media Is Crawling With Online Child Predators
In 2023 a movie was released on the topic of child predators specifically involved in child trafficking called Sound Of Freedom I did a piece on it if you all are Interested.
Well, where do I start; it is a nightmare for children when they are approached by these child predators online on various social media platforms, especially those that have chat options available with strangers. These mentally sick people not only exploit vulnerable children by asking them to do certain things that please them but also they can gain an unfair advantage from them as well.
The funny thing is it is a trend these days on Twitter with active Twitter accounts of child-predatory nature that are being seen as intellectuals who claim it is a natural habit. I will not share such filth over here cause I will give zero clout to these so-called intellectuals but this social media is not a place for children just for this one point alone.
Cyber Bullying Concerns
We notice in schools bullying is a common phenomenon where a child is being bullied to the extent that he is beaten down by older children in front of everybody. What about cyberbullying on social media; that is a real thing as well and not a joke. Children are literally threatened online and given such a torrid time that they might harm themselves in the process.
Social Media Is Addictive
Children are not addicted to video games alone, children are also highly susceptible to being addicted to social media so what happens is that they lose interest in daily chores and most importantly their studies, which without them can never get into a successful career.
Social Media Idealizes Lifestyles That Are Utter Lies
It is a known fact that the current Mr. YouTuber Mr. Beast having over 100 million subscribers shows and promotes a certain lifestyle which is impossible to replicate and guess what; the majority of demographics that his video attracts are children. Mr. Beast is the poster boy of YouTube and even when he talks about creating his productions on YouTube he claims he has spent over 10k dollars on these.
Mr. Beast and many other influencers like him are creating a scenario that is leading children into depression, low self-esteem, low confidence issues, and even body image concerns.
Note: Please do not take this as an attack on Mr. Beast I never said his online activity is deliberately designed to get such harsh results.
Privacy Issues
Children are innocent and most do not know or are taught how to properly use the internet. This education includes filtering their online privacy on social media meaning they can leak and share their private information for the world to see, and this is something that has happened time and time again on multiple social media platforms.
Misinformation
Let's say you open Twitter and you see that verified Twitter blue mark which costs like 8 to 10 dollars and someone used chatgpt to create some misinformation. Now you are an adult, but hey, you can go on to be gullible for that information which can lead to deadly consequences. The same theory applies to children; they can make decisions based on misinformation they got from Social Media and this can have catastrophic consequences.
Clout Gaining Pressures
Peer pressure applies to social media. let's say your 6-year-old son watches the Ryan Toy Review YouTube channel which has millions of subscribers and then he decides to compete with that channel and then he knows in order to compete with such a huge channel he has to do something which might be out of the ordinary and which might harm him in the process. To gain clout, a child is willing to take any measure and that is something a lot of people do not realize this is part and parcel of child psychology.
Promotion Of Being An Introvert
When children used to wake up in the 70s or 80s or even 90s they used to go to the kitchen table and sit with their families to eat their breakfast. Nowadays children want their food plates on their bed before going to school cause they are busy playing either Roblox or seeing how many likes their posts got on their Instagram/YouTube video/TikTok video. Yes, we all know about it and yes social media leads children to become an introvert and limits social interaction to an absolute minimum so how do you expect children to grow up and survive in this world?
Viewing Those Black Screens Too Long Causes Sleep Deprivation
Social Media is addictive meaning when it is the time to sleep children do not follow their usual routine because they are too busy on social media and hence they suffer mentally in the form of sleep deprivation automatically which can lead to all forms of mental health issues.
Fear Of Missing Out
There are so many social media events that target the children demographic and what happens is that the fear of missing out phenomena arises in children which causes stress and concern of being left out of such events.
Parents Are Not Capable Of Online Supervision
Parents are either too busy or they simply lack the know-how to supervise their children when they are using social media. Let's give a simple example of a YouTube kid's application. A lot of parents do not realize the existence of the YouTube Kids app and they let their children use the conventional YouTube application which is not made for children. Google has its own child safety policy and they tried desperately to educate parents but somehow they have not conveyed their message properly. Legally, google is safe yet the children suffer. I am providing the link to Google Child Safety policies just for reference below for you all to check out.
https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2801999?
Conclusion
So how we can stop this cancer called Social Media from affecting our children?
Well, it is quite simple really; everyone will point out the parents over here, however, that is not the correct approach. Only parents cannot combat this issue alone. It is a responsibility that also lies with the teachers who should educate the children on how to properly use Social Media. Every responsible adult out there who is associated with children in any relationship capacity should feel the need to provide guidance in this matter.
Windows 10/11 has parental lock systems in place, and many applications perform these duties as well; however, we know more about AdBlock browser extensions than these. Literally, there is a lack of urgency and interest when it comes to this topic.
The responsibility is for the whole adult community to come out and fight this nonsense before we lose control of our future which is our children. There are more extreme tools already in development, such as VR technology, which will take this issue to an even bigger level. So the choice is yours. Humanity must rise to fight this before it's too late. We need to be vigilant here; we don't want vigilantes but a vigilant community.
Special thanks to @thelegallounge article To Learn or to Play? article in this community which inspired me to add my article over here as well.
This article was originally published on medium which is legally my content.