Should Children Be Allowed On Social Media?

Well there is alot of answers towards this questions which create lots of controversy. The minium age for some media apps are 13+ and some are parental guidance. If your parents let you that isn't a problem. 

Social Media is toxic and it can really impact your life. Children will be stuck into this virtual reality thinking that we need to be rich or pretty to succeed. One example is Instagram. Instagram has many influencers. In reality they are just fake and showing a different side of them.

If children go on social media at such a young age their lives will be destroyed. We don't want another fucked up generation where children will start selling their organs for money.

Most of the media shows a whole ton of shit. You don't see the real world on the media. You see a bunch of teenagers selling their selves and working as sex slaves just for money.

Key Points

Social media is a big part of social and creative life for many pre-teens and teenagers.

Social media benefits include connection, learning and creativity.

Risks include exposure to inappropriate content, cyberbullying, and privacy and data breaches.

Written guidelines can help pre-teens and teenagers get benefits while using social media responsibly, respectfully and safely.

Benefits Of Social Media

Social media is a big part of social and creative life for pre-teens and teenagers.

Pre-teens and teenagers use social media to have fun, make and maintain friendships, share and learn interests, explore identities and develop relationships with family. It’s an extension of their offline and face-to-face interactions. For older teenagers especially, it’s often a key part of how they connect with friends.

Social media can connect pre-teens and teenagers to online global groups based on shared interests. These might be support networks – for example, for young people with disability or medical conditions, LGBTIQ+ teenagers, or children from particular cultural backgrounds. Or they might be sites for commenting on and sharing content about particular interests like games, TV series, music or hobbies.

Risks Of Social Media

Social media can also pose risks. For your child, these risks include:

being exposed to inappropriate or upsetting content, like mean aggressive, violent or sexual comments or images

uploading inappropriate content, like embarrassing or provocative photos or videos of themselves or others

sharing personal information with strangers – for example, images, date of birth, location or address

cyberbullying

being exposed to too much targeted advertising and marketing

being exposed to data breaches, like having their data sold on to other organisations.

Managing social media risks for pre-teens and teenagers

Talking about social media use

Talking with your child is the best way to protect them from social media risks and ensure their internet safety. Talking gives you the opportunity to help your child:

work out how they want to treat other people and be treated online – for example, you can encourage your child to make only positive comments

understand the risks involved in using social media – for example, your child might be tagged in an embarrassing photo taken at a party

learn how to navigate the risks – for example, if your child posts an identifiable selfie, they can reduce risk by not including any other personal information

learn what to do if people ask for personal details, are mean or abusive online, post embarrassing photos of them, or share information that links back to them.