In Spain, the legal age to use social networks is fourteen. However, there are many children who are not even at this age and have a profile on social networks.
Therefore it is not surprising that this week we knew that 97 experts have sent a letter to Mark Zuckerberg asking him to remove the Facebook Messenger Kids application. For those who do not know it, it is a messaging application for the smallest of the house, for children between six and twelve years.
But all this leaves only a series of issues on the table that are evident. Should children make use of social networks when they really do not know everything that their publications can bring? What real dangers do social networks entail for our children? There are so many unknowns, that's why we propose 13 reasons why children should not use social networks.
They don't know what privacy is
Children are not aware of the loss of privacy that comes with simply uploading a photo to social networks or making comments to their friends that everyone can see. Through a seemingly simple post you are not only transferring the rights of that image to Facebook but you can also tell all your contacts where you are.
One of the reasons for experts to direct this letter to Facebook is precisely related to the concept of privacy. Children do not have a complete understanding of what it is. However, it should be remembered that privacy is something that must be preserved on any social platform, beyond Facebook.
Share content that can cause problems
Uploading a photo if you have geolocation enabled can mean telling all contacts where we are. These issues and their possible consequences are very delicate and it seems clear that a child is not yet able to discern this.
It gives rise to misunderstandings
In the same way that in the relations between adults the content that is read through the network is sometimes misunderstood in the case of children this can be multiplied. The little ones navigate in a world that they don't really handle and they can be forced to face situations that neither can nor must face their young age.
They can contact strangers
Under the anonymity given by the network, children can contact strangers who do not have good intentions. It is easy to impersonate another person, create a false profile and gain the confidence of a child thanks to his innocence. This is dangerous because behind it there may be pedophiles or people with bad intentions. Keeping your child away from social networks will be a good way to prevent something like this from happening.
They are children and need time to play
Even if your child is six or twelve years old, he is still a child and needs time to play and play with his friends. Promoting personal relationships and not so much virtual ones is essential. The little ones should have time for their leisure time and not dedicate this time to being in social networks, isolated and without real contact with third parties.
They can be victims of bullying
In Spain INTECO made a study in which children aged between 6 and 16 years were asked, as well as parents and guardians about this situation. In this study, 5.9% said they had been victims of cyberbullying, while 2.9% said they had harassed. Is this data not enough to keep children from networks? The best thing to avoid stalkers in social networks is:
- Configure privacy so that no one can access the account if it is not our contact.
- Not having any strangers among our virtual friends.
- Report any insult or message that may make us feel humiliated. Luckily, social networks every day work to improve these types of practices to prevent harassment on their platforms.
- Be cautious with what you share and with whom.
- Be wary of strangers, you don't know who is hiding behind the patallas.
- For any problem ask for help.
They can be victims of sexting or grooming
What is sexting? Basically it refers to the sending of erotic messages through the mobile phone. Messages that can be used as a new form of harassment. The reality is that the figures do not stop growing and this is indicated by a report by Net Children Go Mobile at the end of 2016 that confirms that 31% of children in Spain between 11 and 16 practiced it last year. The preferred way to share these images is via WhatsApp and the best way to deal with this situation is through dialogue and the promotion of autonomy in adolescent decision-making. Obviously, the main thing is to avoid this type of behavior so as not to be a victim.
What is grooming? It is an attitude related to pedophiles who pretend to be children in the network to approach their victims. A behavior that is a crime in Spain if it is followed by a physical encounter with the victim.
They can be victims of phishing
In social networks anyone can be a victim of phishing and, of course, children too. Anyone with bad intentions can copy their photo and impersonate them. A traumatic experience that they don't know how to manage and that they shouldn't live at that age.
They establish unreal relationships
Sometimes through the network you can establish relationships and generate connections that do not exist beyond the umbrella of the network. You have to be careful with this so that the child does not fall into a parallel reality where their world and their relationships are all in the online world lacking contact with the real world.
They live abducted by the screens
Social networks make them constantly aware of a screen to see their latest notifications. Children who live abducted by screens are taking time away from the world and real life outside. We can talk about a total obsession. In fact, adolescents, especially girls between 14 and 16 years old, are the most vulnerable sector to suffer from nomophobia, a disease that involves being afraid of being held incommunicado through mobile phones or other technological devices, according to a study by the International University of La Rioja (UNIR) and the University of Deusto.
Promotes a sedentary lifestyle
The use of social networks is an activity that is usually done in front of a sitting screen, so we dedicate little time to physical exercise. It is important to encourage play with real contact between children as a healthier form of socialization for our children. Let's not forget that in the end they are children and they will have time to spend hours sitting in front of computer screens.
They idealize the lives of others
In social networks only the best of our lives is shown. If children are in networks and see these types of messages, they can end up idealizing the lives of others. A life that is not real or that simply is not yours. It becomes what we know as posturing. One thing is what we publish on social networks that can be very beautiful and another thing is life itself.
They must establish personal relationships face to face
Do you remember when there were no mobiles or internet? Our children will never remember. Nowadays, young people spend more time worried about their followers than about real relationships. Specifically, according to the conclusions of the study 'Youth and communication. The imprint of the virtual ', carried out by the Reina Sofía Center on Adolescence and Youth, a private center created by the Drug Aid Foundation (FAD), new technologies, internet and social networks have become indispensable in the society, and especially in young people between 16 and 26 years. So much so that they admit "to feel isolated, isolated and incomplete and would not know how to fill routines, integrate or socialize" if they did not have them. A worrying fact, right?
That is why we must work with our children to teach them to socialize so that their main way of establishing their circle of friendships is real life and not the online world.
For all these reasons a child should not have social networks, at least, until the age of fourteen. This is the age at which Spain already allows the use of these channels. The children do not know what privacy is or its importance, nor do they know the repercussions that their publications and interactions can have and it is the duty of the parents to encourage the child's personal interaction and not through a screen.
