YOUTH: INTERNET, SMARTPHONE AND SOCIAL MEDIA
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I and my wife have been going over some issues lately, trying to deduce answers to the question of, when is the appropriate age and time to give a child, a mobile phone, internet access or his or her first smartphone?
Why? There have been many social vices committed lately by youths, and many have been associated with early exposure to the internet, smartphone and social media. Though this is debatable.
The Nigerian social media space is still presently agog and partly in shock over the story of a 10 year old girl engaged in explicit sex with her school mates while on a school excursion. It is said, she had access to the internet, smartphone and social media at a very early age which was deduced as one of the causes, aside from the absence of good parental guide.
There are other stories of young girls who left their schools and travelled interstate without their parents or guardians knowledge, with the intention of meeting strangers, friends or boyfriends who they found on social media. And the end result is either they get sexually abused, kidnapped or worst still killed for ritual purposes.
There are also the youths who spend most of their valuable time on social media, watching people of different ages brandishing luxury items of different forms: wads of dollars, pounds, euro etc., expensive designer clothes, cars ,houses all mostly gotten from fraudulent and get rich quick schemes, and youths gullibly believe all the gibberish.
So you see many youths of today not ready to burn the midnight candle and go through the real process of education, hard work and perseverance needed for their lives. But rather you see them looking for a short cut, which involves the get rich quick schemes, all to make the quick buck. They get involved in robbery, kidnapping and any other fraudulent scheme.
The internet, smartphone and social media are here to stay, they are providing numerous invaluable uses in education, communication, health, manufacturing, technology and so many other areas of our working and daily life. Their advantages and benefits are just too numerous.
Many youths today who got introduced to the internet at a very early age have become technological protégés and gurus, creating and developing new inventions and innovations, that positively changed the way we live today.
But the question still remains, what do you do or what discipline do you implement or what red line do you draw as a parent or guardian, to prevent your child from being corrupted by the internet, smartphone and social media at a very early age?
Kindly make or add your opinion in the comment section, thank you.
They told me if I killed myself now it would save the lives of countless others.
Saying the longer I wait to kill myself the more people will suffer.
They are reckless and should have shown the proper media what they had before taking me hostage for 5 years. I know there are many in prison that dont deserve to be there because of this. Your stay in prison will not be fun @battleaxe and friends. People are going to want you dead when they find out what you did. I hope you die a slow painful death. You sick mother fuckers.
https://peakd.com/gangstalking/@acousticpulses/electronic-terrorism-and-gaslighting--if-you-downvote-this-post-you-are-part-of-the-problem
Its a terrorist act on American soil while some say its not real or Im a mental case. Many know its real. This is an ignored detrimental to humanity domestic and foreign threat. Ask informed soldiers in the American military what their oath is and tell them about the day you asked me why. Nobody has I guess. Maybe someone told ill informed soldiers they cant protect America from military leaders in control with ill intent. How do we protect locked up soldiers from telling the truth?
It is very hard to limit internet use in the United States. It is not uncommon for kids to get homework assignments that require using the internet. I think you need to teach your kid good values before they ever use it.
It is certainly a different affair in so many other places, and the internet is here to stay, so can't be limited. True, a parent has so much work to do, well before his or her child takes the first walk into the social media world, thanks @rcaine, appreciate your presence.
!CTP
I believe it's different, depending on the child. My son, for example, is quite 'streetsmart' when it comes to the internet. My daughter, on the other hand, is more gullible. Therefore, we monitor her much closer.
Our home is also more open-door policy, so we can see and hear everything that's going on.
I did a post a while ago about Auditing Your Kids Online Activities. This is critical in safegaurding them, and their activities.
True, it is certainly different for each child and the open door policy is a good one, thanks @therneau, I really appreciate your contribution.
!CTP
!CTP
That is a great questions. It depends. Depends on the child, depends on the parents too. How much time are you willing to spend guiding their screen time and keeping track of what they are doing or looking at? You can put parental blocks on so that there is content they can't access. My nephew had to do that for his older son who will be 5 in June. In general I don't think a child needs a cell phone before they are teens. I would be one of those parents who is constantly monitoring their usage. .
!CTP
Love your comment @lisamgentile1961. On this issue, there are lots of concerns for young kids of this era and most parents and guardians have to be on the utmost alert to monitor and keep their young innocent loved ones safe, especially when they are at their vulnerable ages. Thanks a lot.
You're welcome and thank you, @gratitudemine! That's the thing. Parents have to remember that they are the parents and not their kids' friends. If your kids like you, especially when they're teenagers, you're not doing your job as a parent. 😀
Have a great day!
!CTP
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the internet and social media has done more harms than good to the society, well i think if the child is above 16 years he can be given one because if we dont give them the phone, they have friends that have phone, a child that will get spoilt will still get spoilt regardless
Thanks @burlarj for your comment, with kids of this era, parents and guardians really have lots and lots of work to do.
Social media bullying makes me think youth need close monitoring and there needs to be ZERO access to social media during school time. Bullies need to be punished by parents, schools, teams, etc. I have even seen bullying in Christian homeschool programs, so I don't want to imagine how bad it is in less strict environments. Teen depression, despair, and suicide are skyrocketing in the midst of digital isolation, yet also 24/7 digital "social" life.