“So children are being raised by viral videos, trending topics, and social media stars—instead of parents; and it라이브 바카라 setting up society for a disaster of unimaginable proportions.”
Children are excessively using smartphones, which will disrupt their sleep patterns and increase the risk of depression, self-harm and suicidal thoughts
“So children are being raised by viral videos, trending topics, and social media stars—instead of parents; and it라이브 바카라 setting up society for a disaster of unimaginable proportions.”
—Mark Dice, American YouTuber, author and activist
The world is making a clear shift towards a smartphone-free childhood and the delayed use of social media. In 2018, Belgium enacted a law requiring children to be at least 13 years old to open a social media account. In 2024, Australia, in a very bold step, banned children under 16 from using social media. Finland—a country that is considered by many as the leader in concept-based education—has done a complete reversal by doing away with digital education and restoring the book, pencil and notebook method of learning. The US and Canada are passing state-wise laws banning smartphones in schools and getting to a state of phone-free schools. However, in India, the Delhi High Court recently ruled against a complete ban on smartphones in schools.
Social media addiction is a behavioural condition that is defined as an uncontrollable urge to log on to or use social media that impairs other important life areas, robbing children of their childhood. Social media anxiety is slowly becoming a problem for kids exposed to computers and the internet at an early age. They exhibit developmental delays, which are documented with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms (self-regulation), leading to decreased attention spans, decision-making skills and reduced cognitive control. Their creativity is hampered and they lack problem-solving skills. This is followed by a premature thinning of the cortex, based on brain scans, resulting in digital dementia. As they enter the pre-teen period, they develop feelings of envy, jealousy and loneliness, along with the excessive fear of missing out. Excessive screen time results in disruption of sleep patterns and increases the risk of depression, self-harm and suicidal thoughts.
Currently, children as young as 10 years or 11 years are engaged on social media based on fake age information, due to lack of proper verification processes by the platforms.
The recent horrifying case of a US teenager falling prey to a social media account created by artificial intelligence (AI) has sent shockwaves to everyone. The teenager befriended the account without realising it was a chatbot and fell prey to it, leading him to die by suicide. The addictive and lucrative nature of online friendship creates personality disorders and lowering of self-esteem, leading to suicidal tendencies.
It is important to make a distinction between social media and internet-based learning as the world increasingly becomes harnessed by AI. As AI transforms industries, students need to develop a mix of technical, cognitive and interpersonal skills to thrive in the future. Technical skills such as Machine Learning Fundamentals, Coding and Programming, Data Literacy, Cybersecurity and Ethics, and Cloud Computing are classroom courses, and smartphones have no value addition in the acquisition of these skills.
The World Health Organization (WHO) screen time recommendations by age are:
For infants less than 1 year of age: No screen time at all;
1 to 2 years: less than one hour per day; and,
3 to 4 years: one hour per day
Awareness needs to be created that:
—Childhood is too precious to be spent on screens. Families must decide what childhood they want for their children, not tech companies that seek commercial gains by keeping kids hooked to screen time.
—30 per cent of the people aged 16-34 experience depression one or more times per week.
—According to a survey by McAfee, India ranks No. 1 in the world in cyberbullying.
—Are AI girlfriends the future we wish for our children? Should we create digital zombies?
—Freely available sexually explicit and child pornography data is ruining the healthy growth of youngsters. Increasing violence and sexual assaults within families and in society are due to the objectionable content available online.
—The dramatic increase of child porn offences in the past 10 years is directly related to the availability of such offensive and inappropriate material on the internet. According to Pornhub, India ranks No. 3 amongst the 30 most porn-watching countries of the world.
The Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDP), 2023, mandates that the verifiable consent of the parent or legal guardian of the child is to be obtained if a minor (under the age of 18) has to open a social media account. Until now, in keeping with the US law COPPA (Children라이브 바카라 Online Privacy Protection Act), a minor child above the age of 13 could open a social media account. However, children as young as 10 years or 11 years are engaged on social media based on fake age information, due to lack of proper verification processes by the platforms. Unless there are checks through proper age proof certification, social media platforms will continue to monetise the attention of children for commercial gains.
If parents give smartphones to children for safety concerns from the perspective of staying in touch with them, there are many other ways to do so, such as a brick phone without a smart screen, a GPS trackable and talking watch, and pods that can track the child. Technological advancements must be used to protect our children and not cause them harm.
In the early 1970s, when tobacco was a menace, it wasn’t until governments and public health organisations implemented policies like raising taxes on tobacco products, banning tobacco advertisements, enforcing smoke-free zones in public, restricting sale to minors and mandating graphic health warnings on cigarette packets—all largely guided by the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control—that society was able to control the use of tobacco.
The social media menace is an epidemic and countries need to find solutions of greater impact if the future of children—and thereby humanity—can be protected. India needs to be a forerunner in this and not lag behind the rest of the world.
(Views expressed are personal)
Manjula Pooja Shroff is the author of Baby Steps To Big Dreams: Essential Conversations For Modern Parents And Safe Teen Steps: Keeping Young Adults Cybersafe