Introduction
It is important to note that with the rise of the internet and globalization, social media platforms have exploded in their popularity and use across all nations, ages, and other demographics. Social media is designed to mimic and enhance human connectivity by making communication instantaneous as well as enabling sharing options, such as images, audio, videos, or written text. Human development is an intricate and delicate process, which is designed and evolved to properly proceed in a specific environment. Social media disrupts such a healthy condition by expanding the range of socialization opportunities available for children. Thus, there are major ramifications of allowing children under 13 to uncontrollably use social media, which can manifest its harms in poor mental health, isolation, cyberbullying, unsafety, and parent-child relationship deterioration. Children under 13 should not be allowed on social media by their parents, and controlling might not be as effective as complete prohibition.
Social Media Risk Factors
One should be aware that the negative impact of social media on children’s development is multifactorial and multifaceted, which implies that it is severely dangerous and risky. A study found that the “the dangers for preteens (9–12) … include risks towards personal safety, identity theft, privacy concerns, access to disturbing and inappropriate material, social isolation, and … mental health concerns” (Dyer 1). In the case of the latter, these include issues, “such as depression, anxiety, and poor sleep. There is also a significant risk of children becoming targets of cyberbullying or sexting” (Dyer 1). In other words, there is an array of problems caused by social media with respect to children under 13. These effects can be even more detrimental among teens, which is why a parent should be concerned about allowing a child to use these platforms. Parents should know that their involvement, supervision, and monitoring of children’s use of social media can greatly reduce these risks (Dyer 1). Thus, social media is critically dangerous when given to children without proper and up-close control of the dosage, exposure, and use.
Parent-Child Relationship Deterioration
However, the statements of parental supervision can become complicated in regards to the harm in the form of parent-child relationship deterioration. Research suggests that many children use social media and develop anxieties, which they can only cope with by further use of social media platforms (Drouin et al. 1). Parents negatively perceive such a dependence, and children are likely to express their anxiety with hostility towards the parental figures (Drouin et al. 1). Thus, social media creates an unhealthy and unstable relationship between parents and children, which hinders the former’s ability to control their children’s use of and exposure to social media platforms. In other words, the most preferred and recommended set of actions a parent can do to his or her child is a total and complete prohibition of social media until at least mid- to late-adolescence.
Conclusion
In conclusion, parents should not allow their children under the age of 13 to be on social media sites with an emphasis on complete inaccessibility rather than reduced exposure. There is a multitude of risk factors associated with social media use in childhood, which include privacy concerns, identity theft, personal safety, and cyberbullying. In addition, it can cause severe mental health issues detrimental to the developing mind, such as anxiety, depression, and feelings of isolation. Parental control might work, but parent-child relationship deterioration can make it more challenging than full prohibition.
Works Cited
Drouin, Michelle, et al. “How Parents and Their Children Used Social Media and Technology at the Beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Associations with Anxiety.” Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, vol. 23, no. 11, pp. 1-10.
Dyer, Tobbi. “The Effects of Social Media on Children.” Dalhousie Journal of Interdisciplinary Management, vol. 14, 2018, pp. 1-16.