Context

Recently, Florida, US, passed a law that prohibits people under 14 years old from having social media accounts, regardless of parental consent.

Karnataka High Court Proposes Social Media Age Limit

• Recently, the Karnataka High Court suggested to the Union Government that it should bring in an age limit for the use of social media. 
• In March 2023, Utah became the first US state to adopt laws regulating children’s access to social media.

Usage of Social Media by Children

• About Social Media: It refers to digital technological platforms that enable people to talk to each other, get involved, share information, and work together. 
• Statistics: As per UN, young people are the driving force of connectivity globally, with 79% of 15 to 24-year-olds online in 2023, compared with 65% for the rest of the world’s population. Around the world, a child goes online for the first time every half second.
• India’s Specific: A recent survey by LocalCircles indicates that urban Indian youngsters spend more time on the Internet. 
  • This trend has given rise to a growing addiction to electronic gadgets among children aged 9 to 18.
  • As per the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) Report, more than 90% teenagers use social media. 

Exposure of Children to Social Media 

• Parental Exposure: Some children are exposed to social media by their parents, who knowingly or unknowingly get them addicted.
• Entertainment: Social media has turned into a hub for entertainment. This acts as a medium attraction for young minds.
• Boredom: In modern society, physical activities have taken a back seat and children are forced to access social media to get over their boredom.
• Easy Access to Digital Devices: Easy access to digital devices has made it easy for children to open a social media account and also use it frequently.
• COVID-19 Period: From the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic period, media devices, internet access and consulting social media rapidly increased. During “lockdown”, the Internet usage allowed communication with peers and the continuity activities such as school teaching. 

Reasons for the Increasing Use of Social Media Among Children

• Peer Influence: Children often use social media to connect with peers. The desire to fit in and be part of social circles motivates them to join popular platforms where their friends are already active.
• Entertainment and Content Consumption: Social media platforms offer a wide range of content, including videos, games, and interactive features. Children are drawn to the entertaining and engaging content available on these platforms.
• Educational Opportunities: Some social media platforms offer educational content and opportunities for learning. Children may use these platforms to access educational resources, connect with experts, and participate in online learning communities.
• Parental Influence and Permission: In many cases, children gain access to social media with the permission or encouragement of their parents. 
• Influence of Digital Culture: Growing up in a digital age, children are immersed in digital culture. The prevalence of smartphones, tablets, and other connected devices makes it easier for them to access social media, contributing to its increased use.
  • Various social media sites promote “infinite scrolling”, display reaction metrics such as likes, feature auto-play videos and have live-streaming and push notifications.

Positive Impacts of Social Media On Children

Here are a few positive impacts of social media on children;

• Critical Thinking: 

  • Social media can help children to think critically and build critical skills for the future.

• Communicate: 

  • Social media helps children to communicate with people of similar interests, helping build knowledge.

• Maintain Relation: 

  • Social media helps maintain relationships with friends and relatives who live far away.

• Develop the Art of Learning: 

  • Social media helps individuals to develop and master the art of learning new things in life.
    • The digital age and social media have created unprecedented opportunities for children and young people to communicate, learn, socialize, and play, exposing them to new ideas and more diverse sources of information.

• Transparency: 

  • Using social media to provide context and evidence fosters transparency, potentially dispelling false narratives and rumors.

• Support and Solidarity: 

• • Sharing the story on social media may garner support and solidarity from the online community, which can be emotionally uplifting.

Negative Impacts of Social Media on Children

Here are a few negative impacts of social media on children;

• Violence: 

  • Social media, with its unfiltered content, can create violent tendencies among children. Involving the child in a social media dispute may have unintended psychological consequences, potentially causing additional stress and harm.
    • Mumbai-based Association of Adolescent and Child Care in India (AACCI) surveyed schools in Mumbai and Gurgaon and found that aggression was on the rise. 

• Cyber Bullying: 

  • Young children, especially girls, are easily the victims of cyberbullying. Social media is the most probable source of such bullying.
    • According to the latest cyberbullying statistics, over the last 10 years cyberbullying has rapidly grown, particularly among school-aged young people.

• Pornography: 

  • Social media and pornography have close links. The young minds of children can get easily addicted to pornographic material, affecting their academic life.

• Illegal Betting: 

  • Social media sites host many illegal betting pages. Children can potentially get addicted to such financially dangerous activities.

• Mental Instability: 

  • Children start living in a virtual world looking at social media content. This affects their future mental peace and stability.
    • A recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) revealed that teens who use social media more than three hours per day may be at heightened risk for mental health problems.

• Socialization: 

  • Social media is not a substitute for physical socialization. Excessive social media use can affect a child’s social life.

• False Information: 

  • Social media is a hub for false information. Children can be brainwashed easily through propaganda.
    • As per a study of UNICEF, only 2% of children and young people have the critical literacy skills they need to judge whether a news story is real or false.

• Impact on Health: 

• • The addiction of social media, in some instances, has manifested as impatience, aggression, concentration problems, memory issues, headaches, eye and back discomfort, stress, communication difficulties, lethargy, and even depression.
    • The sleep pattern of children is affected due to excessive use of social media.

Ways to Reduce Negative Impacts of Social Media On Children

• Parental Control: Parents must keep a watch over their children’s social media activity. Parents must win the confidence of their children and guide them.
• Digital Education: It is the responsibility of the parents, teachers as well as authorities to inculcate digital education among children, in order for them to use social media in a beneficial way.
• Regulation of Social Media: Social media companies must self-regulate their activities or the government must make them do it.
  • Freedom of opinion and expression is guaranteed by the Indian Constitution. Proper ethical standards for social media usage need to be designed but it should be dynamic too technologies and the way that technologies are used are constantly changing.
• Counseling: Professional counselors can help children overcome the habit and addiction associated with social media.
  • Example: The World Health Organization recommends no screen time for babies under 2 and no more than one hour of screen time a day for those aged 2 to 4.
• Technology Solutions: Instead of relying solely on censorship, the government and intermediaries can invest in technology solutions to tackle misinformation and fake news.
  • Example: Algorithms can be developed to identify and flag false information, and fact-checking websites can be promoted.
• Self-Regulation: Intermediaries can adopt self-regulatory measures to prevent the spread of fake news and misinformation.
  • Example: By setting up internal committees to monitor content and flag any false information and working with fact-checking websites to ensure accuracy.
• Collaborative Approach: The government, intermediaries, and civil society organizations can work together to develop a digital and social media safer environment for children and all.
  • Example: By setting up a joint task force to identify and remove false and irrelevant information and promoting media literacy among the public.
• Adopt and Enact Legal Guidelines: The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) recommended that States take strong measures, including legislation, to protect children from harmful and misleading content. 
  • Children should also be protected from all forms of violence, including child trafficking, gender-based violence, cyber-aggression, cyber-attacks and information warfare.
  • Children’s perspectives and experiences need to be considered when drafting policies that govern the use of young people’s digital use, as well as when designing the technology itself.
  • China has issued guidelines for minors who would not be allowed to use most internet services on mobile devices from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., and that children between the ages of 16 and 18 would only be able to use the internet for two hours a day.

Conclusion

Like the coin, social media also has its two sides, it can be a powerful tool and on the other hand, it also poses some ethical challenges that need to be addressed by adopting appropriate measures. In the digital age, instead of banning social media access to our future generation, it would be better to ensure improved parental oversight tools, improved access to data to stop bad actors, alongside major investments in mental health systems and programs.