Age Restriction on Social Media Is a Must to Prevent Strangers, Stalkers, Adults Content

Abstract

The age limits in social media are the important factors that help to protect the safety of children and teenagers from dangers like strangers, stalkers, and adult content. The faster growth of social media suddenly increases the danger to society, no matter how old they are. The absence of age limitation has a consequence, exposing particularly young people to the risk of meeting strange characters online, hence the exploitation. Implementing an age restriction is essential to avoid the vulnerability of teens on social media by reducing their interaction with unknown persons on social media sites. Additionally, the types of information presented on social media networks can be harmful, especially for the younger ones. Numerous celebrities and influencers show behaviors that may not align with society’s norms or parental expectations, which the youth may easily absorb without filtering them, therefore contributing negatively. Additionally, social media platforms like Netflix have plenty of cartoons, including violence, horror, and others, which may arrive to children without the guidance of adults. For that matter, it becomes clear that age restrictions are important.

Social media is an important part of the world today, shaping how we connect with each other and share information. Nowadays, almost everyone uses social media, especially kids and teens. However, there are dangers to online use, especially for young people. This essay talks about why it is important to have rules about how old you must be to use social media. Young individuals have interacted with social media platforms without restrictions. Others have been exposed to harmful content online, which has affected their lives a lot. Age restrictions on social media are a must in order to prevent strangers, stalkers, and adult content so as to safeguard the lives of individuals.

First of all, the fact that there are no age restrictions on the Internet makes it possible for young people to meet strangers; this can be dangerous for their lives. With social media becoming an important factor influencing people of all ages, it can be a crucial factor of risk. The effect of no age regulation can cause the health and safety of children, youths, and even adults to be compromised. Especially teenagers tend to establish bonds with people they are not familiar with, which may cause quite a few problems and could lift the risks(De Zwart et al., 2011). Murders and kidnappings that have happened to students after meeting persons from social platforms indicate that there is an urgent need for the implementation of age restrictions on these social media platforms. If so, then the implementation of age limits becomes an important step to limit the impact of stalkers, as well as for interactions with unknown people, and finally, for the sake of the users, especially youngsters.

Secondly, the adult content posted online on social media platforms is a more significant issue. Celebrities, apps, channels, websites, and many different platforms are our community’s most significant influencers. Many parents are worried about observing their kids watching this harmful content, especially for young children. Celebrities with successful careers are one of a kind who leads by example, portraying negative behaviors and ethics, which affect young people in negative ways((Al-Ansi et al., 2023)). Furthermore, services like Netflix create horror and criminal movies, which children may imitate. The unlimited nature of undesirable materials is a danger to children’s mental health and personality.

While some would argue that setting age limits on social media restricts people from saying what they think and expressing themselves. They could conclude that it is unnecessary to put age limits to the use of social media to keep people under a certain age from receiving the opinions of others and essential news information. It is true that these statements are the number one reason why parents hesitate when handing over their kids to the risks of social networks. However, without the restrictions, the children and teens can quickly become victims of people who could cause harm to them and see things that aren’t good for their growth. Even though we desire each one to be accessible to communicate, we also have to note that safety must be a priority.

In conclusion, age limits on social media are essential to safeguard young people from the severe harm caused by strangers, stalkers, and inappropriate content. Nowadays, individuals can easily access different sites, allowing underage individuals to be exposed to several dangers, like engaging with strangers online or the harmful effects of controversial materials and content. Thus, putting an age limit on social media networks is a safe way to protect children and youngsters in the present digital age.

References

de Zwart, M., Lindsay, D., Henderson, M., & Phillips, M. (2011). Teenagers, legal risks, and social networking sites. Monash University-Faculty of Education.

Al-Ansi, A. M., Hazaimeh, M., Hendi, A., & Adwan, G. (2023). How do social media influencers change adolescents’ behavior? Evidence from Middle Eastern countries. Heliyon, 9(5).