Morgan McGrath

January 2018

Professor Green

ENGL 400

 

 

 

 

 

Minimum Age Requirements on Social Media

            Social media today has become extremely popular. Many users enthrall themselves in the social media world and become completely invested in it. There are many social media applications available for users, and most of them can be accessed within fingers reach on their smartphones now. Along with social media growing, the prevalence of smartphone users has grown exponentially as well. The growth of this increased smartphone usage stems from kids and teenagers getting smartphones at younger ages. Research states that most children get their first smartphone on average when they are ten years old. (Curtin, 2017.). This young age has led to the increased usage of social media among young people. Although many of the most popular social media applications have minimum age requirements, I do not believe that the age restrictions are high enough or specific enough to protect a child from the many dangers that can arise from social media use.

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat each have a minimum age requirement of thirteen years old to open an account. Most thirteen year old kids are still in middle school or freshman in high school. If the average age that a child gets a smartphone is ten years old, do they really go three years without creating any social media accounts? I believe that they do not. Kids find a way to create a fake birthday to create social media accounts. This is not completely the child’s fault or motivation. Parents may not be aware of the age limits on certain social media applications, which is a huge problem. Many parents may support or consent their children to create a social media account before the minimum age of thirteen years old. Parents sometimes also ask the child for the password to their account so they can get on it from time to time, but doesn’t that defeat the purpose of an age restriction on these sites? That is not to say that some parents are monitoring their children’s social media accounts the right way. Some parents may investigate who their child/children follow or what they post and interact with on their accounts. One research study states that 59% of children have used a social media application by the time that they are ten years old. (Williams, 2014.). The huge problem with the growing usage of social media by “underage” users allows for greater safety issues because the children are not mature enough or knowledgeable on how to use social media properly and the potential risks that can come from having a life on social media.

I have chosen to propose my argument to raise the minimum age restrictions on social media to at least 15 years old because of the examples that I have seen through my brother, who just turned fourteen years old. My parents did not allow him to create any social media platforms until he was the minimum age of thirteen. When my brother made his social media accounts, I friended/followed him. One of the things that I came across as one of his followers on his Instagram account was that many kids use foul language when conversating or commenting on pictures. Also, my brother is more worried about how many followers he has rather than who is following him. He will let any random person follow him, which is dangerous. He does not realize that his identity is now exposed to the world on social media, and allowing strangers to follow him can create many problems. His followers on Instagram are not the only problems that I noticed when I was observing his account activity. The other problem is that he follows random people or inappropriate accounts. He does not know any better though, and that is the problem, mainly due to his young age. My parents have made him delete his Instagram account after seeing some of the posts he follows and the comments that arise on his own posts. My brother is probably not the only young teenager that was naïve when using social media. Maybe in a year or two, my brother will be more responsible and able to resume his activities online. Many kids are unaware of the risks and responsibility that is required to protect yourself when using social media applications.

In my research to support my proposal, I found another startling statistic from the Social Age Study; they stated that by the age of twelve, 43% have messaged strangers online. Many children want to follow or be friends with their role models, celebrities, and sports stars on social media accounts. There are many imposters on social media for each of these types of people, and a young child or teen may not be able to decipher whether or not the account is legitimate. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat have installed a feature where a famous person or icons account must be “verified” for authenticity. If an account is verified, then it will show a blue check of some sort next to the profile name. Communication online can be a huge problem, even if the child knows who they are speaking with, but more times than not, kids may be messaging foreign accounts and strangers that they do not know. This is a huge red flag when interacting on social media. It is hard to say that a child of thirteen years or younger is knowledgeable about what to share and not share with others online, strangers or not.

A growing feature on social media applications is the use of “location” when online. Many kids do not know that these settings are there and may have their location being shown without them knowing it. Unfortunately, there are many people with horrible intentions online. If a stranger sees a child’s location, that can put the child in a very dangerous and vulnerable situation. Parents need to educate their children on these settings and that is safest to not share your location when online. I strongly believe that children who are thirteen or younger will not understand or care why location is such a dangerous thing to share on social media.

At the age of thirteen, kids do not have a solid foundation of right from wrong. Kids also are subject to being bullied or becoming a bully around this age. Children at the age of thirteen want to be accepted by their peers and acknowledged in the social media world. This age is a time for growth and learning, but social media can have a negative impact on a child’s mental and emotional health if they are investing in the wrong things online. Internet addiction is another growing problem and could be accredited to the use of social media starting at younger ages.

After research on this topic, I have found many articles that agree with my stance, but I did find a site that provides different viewpoints towards my proposition. According to this site, 67% of people say that there should not be any age restrictions on social media. Many people say that parents should be held more accountable for their child’s actions on social media, and that a child will find a way to access social media, regardless of if there is an age restriction on social media. (Debate.org, 2018.). Many people on this site also believe that children should be exposed to a life online early in order to be able to conduct themselves properly online as they grow older. (Debate.Org, 2018.). Many people also argue that there is no full proof way to have age restrictions on social media websites. This site provides different opinions on either side from many different people, which was interesting as I think about my proposal. The people who agree with my opinion and say that there should be an age restriction on social media sites often say things along the lines of “yes, because kids don’t know between right and wrong”, and “kids are too naïve to be on social media at the age of thirteen.” (Debate.org, 2018.). Of course, many people are going to have different opinions on this matter, but it is important to research the positives and negatives for each side of the argument.

The research that I have found solidifies my opinions on raising the minimum age requirements on social media. There are many risks with having a child age thirteen or younger using social media accounts. The first-hand experience that I observed on this matter with my fourteen-year-old brother also provided my motivation for my proposal. Children at the age of thirteen are not old enough to be exposed to the many dangerous things that can be on social media accounts, and they are not mature enough to protect themselves and engage on social media appropriately. I also strongly believe that they are not old enough to realize how to act appropriately on social media, which is why the age restrictions on social media accounts should be at minimum, fifteen years old to make an account.

References

Curtin, M. (n.d.). Bill Gates Says This Is the ‘Safest’ Age to Give a Child a Smartphone. Retrieved January 09, 2018, from https://www.inc.com/melanie-curtin/bill-gates-says-this-is-the-safest-age-to-give-a-child-a-smartphone.html

Graber, D. (2014, October 08). 3 Reasons Why Social Media Age Restrictions Matter. Retrieved January 09, 2018, from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/diana-graber/3-reasons-why-social-media-age-restrictions-matter_b_5935924.html

Gross, D. (2009, November 03). Social networks and kids: How young is too young? Retrieved January 09, 2018, from http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/11/02/kids.social.networks/index.html

Jamieson, S. (2016, February 09). Children ignore age limits by opening social media accounts. Retrieved January 09, 2018, from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/children/12147629/Children-ignore-age-limits-by-opening-social-media-accounts.html

Should age restrictions be placed on social media? (n.d.). Retrieved January 12, 2018, from http://www.debate.org/opinions/should-age-restrictions-be-placed-on-social-media

Williams, R. (2014, February 06). Children using social networks underage ‘exposes them to danger’. Retrieved January 09, 2018, from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/10619007/Children-using-social-networks-underage-exposes-them-to-danger.html