English (Essay Sample)

The correct time for child to use social media In the present world and the increased use of social networks, the issue on when children and young adults should be given the green light to join social media is a question. Multiple observers claimed that the early participation in social media can be useful in teaching children about digital media and communications, thus, children should be allowed to use social media only starting from age 14. This age is a combination of youth and sense to ensure that the children have the capacity and time to comprehend with the risks and negative effects of social media on their psychological wellbeing. First and foremost, the child’s capability to reason and their emotional state should be considered before they sign up to social media applications. A study demonstrates that children below the age of 14 years do not have the capacity to understand issues arising from interaction in the World Wide Web resulting in bullying, dangers posed by internet criminals and come across age restricted content (American Psychological Association). Also, it is important to note that childhood exposure to these risks has such severe psychological effects. Social media also has serious effects on the issue of comparison, negative body image and worsened self-esteem. Furthermore, children at the age 14 have much higher sense of identity than they before, so they are in a better position to contain the distractions as well as addiction to social networks. At this age, children also have better understanding of the privacy settings and implication of sharing some information in the internet. Letting the kids below a certain age have applications such as Instagram, or TikTok, makes them exposed to a culture where things like likes, followers, and such are valued over personal worth. Finally, the better age for children to be on social media should be at least thirteen or fourteen. By this age, you are likely to find that they are mature enough, have the ability to reason and be emotionally strong enough to face the risks involved in the social media. …it is important that parents and educators pay substantial attention to children’s interaction with the technology so that the exposure is both protected and constructive. source..