TECHNOLOGY has been rapidly developing since the 1950s, and while a social media ban is OK theoretically, there are many problems.
Kids who aren’t around their family need a way to communicate with their loved ones. No parent wants to leave their kid in the blistering heat because they missed their bus stop and can’t call mum.
Cheap phone plans are $206 yearly. Social media was a free alternative, but with the social media ban, parents are forced to pay that $200 — for some families, this could be detrimental.
Another problem with the social media ban? Kids are sneaky. They’re defiant, and as every 2000s movie suggests, rebellious.
Parents may argue that getting kids off the internet is the solution, but when has that ever stopped them? If one finds a way to get past it, they all will, then the millions are wasted, just like that.
The biggest problem on the internet is creeps. Over 300 million children a year are victims of online sexual exploitation and abuse.
These aren’t just numbers. Out of my friends, three of us have been groomed online multiple times.
Any platform with the ability for a reply, is an opportunity for creeps. If someone had taught all of us how to be safe online, we wouldn’t have been groomed.
What will happen to these 16-year-olds, fresh on the internet? We can’t let the exploitation of kids and teens go on any longer.
The government shouldn’t be enforcing this. It’s a parent’s choice to limit how much time their child spends online.
The government should instead be providing learning programs for kids, to teach them to be safe. What we currently have is a waste of the tax money you pay.
Mikayla Wright
Irymple Secondary College
