Essay Four - Are the kids alright?

Of course it is as the question states some negative consequences with the use of internet and social media. The internet contains so much information and – it almost goes without saying – not all of it is of use, but most of us can limit both our usage and negative influence that the web has on our lives. Unfortunately, not everyone can do that. One of the topics touches upon this problem, which is that people get addicted or in other ways take harm from the internet. My personal opinion is that a grown up person should be able and allowed to use the service that the internet is in the extent they find suitable. I think however that there is a group of individuals who are not mature enough to independently sort and value all the information. Nor is it possible for them to sense when enough is enough in the way that one can expect an adult person to do. I am thinking about the children.

My concern is therefore how to help youngster to develop a healthy relationship to the internet and the use of it. I think that the educational system has a lot to do here; unfortunately I suspect that the pupils have a higher level of knowledge about the net than the most of their teachers.

Also parents will have to spend time explaining and educating about the hazards and imperfections of social media and the internet. In the pre-internet era parents could allow their children to play with little supervision on the living room floor, because it was a secure area and the toys had been inspected and approved. This is not the same as leaving a child with little supervision in front of a computer, since the parents does not have control nor have they inspected or approved of all the sites on the internet. Sure there are programs like NetNanny, but they are not perfect and quite easy to circumvent, there is also a need for explanation that the program can’t offer. That is, the child needs to know why he or she can’t log onto certain websites; otherwise the ban might just increase their curiosity.

There are other parts of society that also needs to get in gear with the new technology and the changes that it brings with. Medical and behavioral science and professionals who work with people need guidelines about how to treat gaming and online addiction. Obviously there is not enough research done about how much is too much and what can be done to prevent misuse and other abusive habits. This knowledge will then affect society and eventually lead to better knowledge and lesser misuse of the internet just like research on tobacco has decrease the use of it significantly.

By: Johan Östberg