by Kayla Villaruz: Staff Writer
One way people interact with one another, entertain themselves or others, and share or gain information is through social media, which becomes more and more popular each day for its convenience. Social media platforms such as Snapchat, Twitter, And Instagram- the three most common forms of media used in this generation- can be used on a personal level to make stronger connections with family and friends, regardless of how far away they are from each other. At times, social media may even be informative, spreading around reports on events viewers might not have heard about. Though social media can be an amusing place, the most important thing it can be is a dangerous place, which tends to slip people’s mind.
Academy of Education and Empowerment (AEE) junior, Joshua Viado, says, “Social media, in my opinion, isn’t a safe place. People are so reckless as to accidentally [leak] private information. There are also stalkers online so we need to be careful about what we put online.”
Getting involved with social media puts you at risk for things such as cyberbullying and cyberstalking, which is a big issue in today’s society, though it may not be such a big deal at Carson Complex. Many people come across a post with extremely negative content, and instead of reporting or blocking it, they take part in the disturbing behavior by commenting or continuing to spread it onto other, perhaps younger, viewers’ and users’ timelines. Sometimes it is done in secret where the bully hides their identity by creating a false one, an entirely different account, sending messages people wouldn’t know to hold them accountable for. So to keep the younger generations safe, should young children have more restrictions on social media?
Carson High School junior, Kent Zeballos says, “I don’t think younger people should have restrictions on social media because sooner or later they will be exposed to what they see on there.”
You can try all you want to not expose your younger relative to the inappropriate posts, comments, and pages on social media, but it’ll come to a point where you cannot manage their timeline at all time and supervise what they view. They’re bound to find out, it’s inevitable.
Meanwhile, other people like Academy of Medical Arts freshmen, Eliza Argentera, says “I do think that younger people should have restrictions on social media. I feel like the more they spend time on [social media], they won’t really care about the [type of content they view].”
Possible restrictions can be in correlation to their age. It is a common dilemma for parents to decide at what age they should allow their kids have access to social media. The purpose this idea of prohibiting young children from having social media or following certain accounts on there is to teach them what is and is not appropriate to view and post. Such things are important to consider for an individual’s safety and for the safety of others.
CHS junior James Dix says, “I don’t think there should be a restriction on the time used, however there should be a restriction on pages they visit…”
Numerous people vary in their perspective on social media restrictions- to agree, to disagree, or to remain neutral and compromise on resolutions or preventions of the dangers of social media. Should younger generation social media users have restrictions or is awareness on the issue of fake accounts, cyberbullying, cyberstalking, and other dangers enough for their safety?
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