Just how young is too young to utilize social media for young adults and kids is a topic that has stirred a heated discussion among parents and stakeholders. The argument revolves around when children can be allowed to utilize technology and mobile apps and in what way parentages can handle technology, particularly controlling the time spent on screens by their children. On the one hand, some state that technology and social media use at an early age have more disadvantages than kids’ benefits. On the other hand, others argue that technological and social media use is inevitable in children’s lives and in one way or the other, it will find its way in (McDool et al.,2016). They argue that parents only have an option of supervising and guiding their children’s social media and technology use.
In my viewpoint, social media use and technological development are becoming part and parcel of everyone’s life. Therefore, it is easier to find all sorts of people on social media platforms, some with ill motives. However, social media is not utterly risky, and technology has been incorporated into children’s lives, such as education. It is important to guide, teach and introduce children to social media and technology after attaining some maturity, probably at 12 years (McDool et al.,2016).
The parents can foster trust and transparency with their children to comfortably discuss what they learn or do on social medial. Also, to ensure the safety of the children as they use social media, parents should supervise the kids. As much as a parent may be insecure about allowing their kids to use social media, it is not doing them any good (McDool et al.,2016). Social media and technology use ban on children will prompt them to access the platforms secretly, and they will have a false impression of the world they live in.
Reference
McDool, E., Powell, P., Roberts, J., & Taylor, K. (2016). Social media use and children’s wellbeing.
