For societies with long histories of protecting children with laws and regulations, isn’t it surprising that nothing is being done to similarly shield them from the various and proven dangers of social media? We need to institute the same kinds of age limits and protections for technology and web use as we’ve done for decades in almost every other sphere.
Think about it. We don’t let young people drive, drink, smoke, get married, join the Army, get a tattoo, or vote until we feel they’re old enough to handle it. But we put some of the most powerful technologies ever known to humankind in the hands of a 13-year-old and then stand back in amazement when and issues go off the charts when and explode when rape culture is taught within a generation of young children steeped in porn. For parents with teenage kids, there is a growing, horrifying realization that over the last ten years, we’ve knowingly surrendered our offspring as guinea pigs to a grand scheme from tech companies focused on “maximizing engagement” for the sake of profit, with little or no regard to the consequences.
For societies with long histories of protecting children with laws and regulations, isn’t it surprising that nothing is being done to similarly shield them from the various and proven dangers of social media?
Our parents were so in love with cool tech ourselves that we thought it hip and helpful and safe to get Johnny and Jane a phone, with a similar disregard for what damage this could do to their self-esteem and healthy development. The first little emoji text we got from them seemed cute. We didn’t realize it would turn into 100, then 500, then 1,000 — a day.
Forgive us, Lord, for we know not what we do.
Try putting your phone down. Could you go on, do it now? Count how long you can go before you can’t resist picking it up again. How long did you manage? Not long, right? You (like most of us) are a tech addict, and you’re an adult with willpower and the ability to defer gratification that your upbringing drilled into you. Imagine what it’s like for a 16-year-old whose whole life has been a never-ending carousel of instant gratification. And we’re surprised when our kids look washed out in the morning before school, after a night of Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and a whole bunch of apps your kids know about but you’ve never heard of. A school that now involves even more time staring at a screen.
