Should youngsters be banned from social media?

Australia has certainly got us all talking and debating this subject, so well done.

For me, I wonder whether they have got this the wrong way round. Maybe, we should ban some of the content allowed on social media, rather than restrict those who access it.

I do see both points of view.  Supporters of the ban argue it’s for the wellbeing of children who they say are spending too much time online and risk being exposed to uncontrollable pressures, bullying and predators.

Opponents say restricting children’s access to the internet runs the risk of pushing them to even less regulated corners of it – and they question the effectiveness of the age-verification technology on which the ban relies. And, of course, they will miss out on the knowledge that can be gleamed from the internet.

I have concerns about what this is going to mean for autistic young people who communicate and socialise differently. Online can be a very beneficial place for them and there are ways to connect online that are just not accessible to them in real life.

I’ve also discovered the many examples of face-to-face bullying, often at a very early age, which then moves onto messaging and then to platforms including TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram. Sadly, this can, and sometimes does, result in the suicide of those that simply deserve better.

Social platforms offer connection, creativity and community, while posing real risks, especially for developing minds still learning how to navigate the world.

Maybe the real answer lies between the extremes – not a complete ban, but smarter, age-appropriate boundaries. What we need is thoughtful supervision, improved platform safeguards, and open conversations about online behavior, so youngsters can benefit from it without being overwhelmed. 

That is up to us adults – we need to make online space safer for youngsters; we need to make it healthier and more empowering for them. It’s not that difficult.

Should youngsters be banned from social media?

As a father of two beautiful young ladies, I find this question very up to date and actual, because I see it real time every day. 

When I wake up my daughters at 7:30 am to go to school, they take some time to dress. Then, they hang up with their smartphones. Just like zombies, yeah. 

It is one of the reasons we risk being late to get to school. They are just slow in the morning. To make things look even worse, they use messages in the morning to communicate with their classmates. I oversaw it: 

Damn! Back in the 1980s, we didn’t have to make it up for school. Still, I somehow survived and made it to live now. On the other hand, I start to look like an old man.

Finally, I get mad and have to shout at them though I hate it. Alas, other tactics just don’t work. First, I am trying to be polite, understanding how hard it is to wake up at 7:30am. Then, I scream!

In daytime, they dive into various social media, such as Duo Lingo and Like. I can’t really be against it as I spend my time on Telegram and Facebook. 

Now, to the Aussies. 

I am a person that doesn’t like any bans and restrictions. If you restrict something, that means you can’t handle it. Which is weak, me thinks. 

I am not going to discuss it here if it is a good solution or not. I mean, kids are smart enough to use VPN. 

Here’s the example: My elder daughter, Liza, 11, just told me: ‘Dad, they blocked Roblox, but today I found a free VPN and continue to enjoy playing it!’

How about it, Canberra?

That’s it. I wish all of them all the best who do it, from Putin to Australians. 

You won’t succeed, guys. There’s always a rose that will grow through concrete. 

You will lose it this way. Anyway.

Try finding some fine-tuned, more delicate, smarter solutions, other than simply banning things you can’t really ban. If you don’t, you will be cursed by youngsters.

Amen.

Should youngsters be banned from Social Media? 

Perhaps I should start with some disclosure – during the last few years of my working life, I was a Marketing Consultant. That including things like bulk email and website design. I learned a fair bit about how the online marketing world works and just how sleazy it can be. To be fair, there are many good tech companies out there and many, many decent people in the industry. It’s just hard for the average person to tell who’s who.

Your privacy is not their problem.

Let me give you a couple of examples:

1. Google is absolutely desperate for me to turn on location services in my phone. I get reminders. They want to track my movements and tie all my devices together. The police would need a court order to do this.
   
2. Facebook will not allow an advertiser to buy ads on their service unless they turn on tracking (location services) on their phone. Don’t worry, yours is already turned on.
   
3. Some email companies scrape social media sites to compare email addresses with the address you used when signing-up for a newsletter. Let’s pretend you use Facebook. The email list now has your profile picture, DoB, place of birth, current city, current employment, and ANY other public information you may have posted — forever. All this from signing-up to buy shoes.
   
4. Once this data is harvested, data brokers will sell the above, plus your home address, public government records, family members, and phone number to anyone. The police can now buy this because it’s faster and more detailed than what they would get legally.

Into this world we will introduce a child. This child will now download a “free” fun play app to his phone. Of course, that app will also offer in-app purchases. Here’s Mom’s CC number! Let’s say the child also wants to video chat with his friends. No problem, ALL the video/message chat apps are free (ever wonder why?). But to work properly, they will need access to your microphone, camera, address book, photo album, and past texts. 

Hey, what could go wrong? <shoots hand up> I know, I know!!! Let’s pretend that as a 20-year-old, this former child would like to study in America, or hell, just go to see the place. The Trump Administration is about to start demanding all access to all social media accounts you had for the past five years if you’re from a visa-free country. What could go wrong? In China it’s called the Social Credit System. I’m not sure adults should have access to Social Media, let alone children. Think Trump would never do it? Read this.