Safety Online

Blog Post #3

Social media has become a part of our everyday lives. So much so, that many people start off the day scrolling through their feed. 

Many of my peers have social media, many have started when they were in 3rd grade. So, when I heard about Instagram for kids I felt a little worried. The main reason is that I had a lot of self image issues due to my use of social media. I worry for the kid's safety, as a lot of information about people can be found on social media. 

(image from eLearning Industry)

I think that these apps do a lot more harm than good. A lot of the mental issues that youth face today are results of being on social media. There are a lot of good people out there, but there are also bad. People that post gore or cyberbullies are always on social media. It could cause a  lot of problems if kids were given unsupervised access to the internet.  

I had social media before I was 13, and many of my friends also had social media before they were 13. A lot of us have issues that have started with being on social media too much. My experience with social media was fine at first, but then it also introduced me to unhealthy ideologies, like ‘you’re only pretty if you’re skinny’, ‘*insert thing I have* isn’t feminine'. Posts like that have caused many of my insecurities, people push these ideas onto other people so much that it can cause a huge toll on someone’s mental health. 

Once something is on the internet, it is there forever. Things on the internet can spread like wildfire. Social media is not safe for kids under 13 to use. Even if it’s ‘for kids’. People can collect the child’s information without their knowledge. That is why COPPA, the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, prevents people under 13 from joining social media, or even signing up for e-mails. I wonder if  it will work like Kids Messenger,  where parents approved their contacts. But even with that, they will still see random things in there feed or explore page. 

Honestly, the age limits do not prevent kids from signing up for these apps. They can fake their age and theirs not really any way to check. Even when reporting accounts, Instagram or any other social media does not really check. Whenever I report accounts, I feel like they are just dismissed.