The Australian government passed a law prohibiting teenagers under 16 from having social media accounts; nevertheless, they are permitted to view social media in a 'logged out state'. Social media firms will face fines if they fail to comply with the law.
The ban is expected to take effect by the end of this year. However, a global debate has erupted about whether a ban on social media is the best way to address the detrimental effects of excessive use in teenagers. It is being monitored to see if such measures could be taken elsewhere in the world.
Social media is a useful tool for learning and connection, but if not used responsibly, it can have major health consequences. Sleep interruption is a severe issue. Browsing mobile platforms before bedtime can lead to poor sleep quality and quantity, particularly in teenagers. This results in daytime drowsiness. Sleep deprivation complicates emotional control and raises stress.
Another disadvantage of social media for teenagers is their poor attention span. A recent study, "Accelerating Dynamics of Collective Attention," published in Nature, shows that human attention spans have drastically decreased, going from 2.5 minutes twenty years ago to 45 seconds today. Rapid attention shifting between digital stimuli impairs focus on schoolwork and other non-digital tasks.
Overuse of social media disrupts children's social lives and prevents them from learning essential social skills. The face-to-face interactions, such as reading facial expressions and body language, are crucial for empathy and social cue comprehension. Academic performance suffers as a result of the time spent on social media since it interferes with study and homework time.
Aggression is another aspect of the detrimental effects of social media on teens' social lives. These days, video games and social media expose teenagers to violent and provocative content. The World Health Organisation states against exposing newborns under a year old to any electronic devices, including laptops or mobile phones, and against allowing children ages one to five to spend more than an hour a day in front of a screen.
According to studies, youngsters who use social media for more than three hours a day are twice as likely to suffer from mental health conditions like depression and anxiety because they are exposed to pictures of things they lack in their lives.
Body dysmorphia is prevalent among young individuals and has grown in recent years. Those in their early teens are frequently resistant to constraints and could rebel against them. They may believe they are entitled to the same technological resources as their peers elsewhere. This resistance may cause confrontations between parents and children, resulting in interpersonal tension and mistrust.
Bans, therefore, are ineffective. For example, prohibiting alcohol can often lead to increasing use. As a result, tech-savvy children may find ways to evade it, such as setting up secret accounts, utilising fake identities and VPNs, or accessing dangerous areas of the internet, thus increasing their exposure to hazardous content rather than decreasing it.
Social media frequently turns into a tool for validation since humans are social creatures with an innate need for acceptance and belonging. Many people use the quantity of likes on their posts or photos as an instrument to assess someone's appearance, intelligence, and even personal value.
According to experts, compulsive notification checking can cause addiction-like symptoms in which people struggle to detach, affecting their mental well-being. Online conversations are frequently superficial, missing the emotional depth and nonverbal communication that characterise face-to-face interactions. This leads to an emotional separation.
Furthermore, people prefer to present only the positive elements of their lives on social media, resulting in a false depiction of happiness and success that can make others feel even more alienated in their troubles. The way a tool is used determines its potency. The systemic and contemporary issues around social media use regulation must be addressed.
A social media ban doesn't help young people learn or manage anything; it just delays their exposure to these platforms. The same algorithms will still be in place when they eventually begin utilising these platforms, influencing users' views and behaviours and keeping both young and old users interested.
In theory, algorithms present only contents that a user could find interesting. The content is actually tailored to promote spending more time on the platform.
Digital literacy and education are a better way to help children learn self-discipline when using their devices and to explain the advantages and disadvantages of social media. Establish a family media use plan, ban screens for at least an hour before bed, establish limits on content access, promote family communication and conversations, and refrain from using social media in the mornings, as this wastes teens' productive time and deters them from starting the day with energy.
Every week, have a conversation with your teen about social media so they feel comfortable sharing their experiences with you without fear of criticism. Set boundaries for your own social media use and encourage the children to follow your lead by asking them about their experiences on social media, how they perceive what they see there, and how they would react to different scenarios they might come across online.
Teenagers in India may find that social media detoxification — the practice of distancing oneself from social media apps and preventing them from interfering with daily life — is a necessary lifestyle habit.
Bringing life back on track with creativity, productivity, and a healthy dose of enthusiasm for the future is the ultimate goal. The children have an unquenchable desire to follow the latest trends and are impacted by social media influencers for the majority of their decisions. A social media detox can begin with specific hours of the day and then progress to days and weeks.
Parents and educators can initiate discussions regarding the psychological effects of social media, such as cyberbullying, misinformation, and online comparison, to educate children about the risks involved.
Schools can take the lead in this area by integrating media literacy and mental health awareness into the curriculum. According to a 2023 survey, 78% of students who received such instruction choose to use social media responsibly.
Have you liked the news article?