Around the world, from Australia to the United Kingdom, governments are bringing in bans on social media for children. Critics of these bans say children are being used as a convenient excuse to bring more surveillance, but in this editorial I will take what governments are saying at face value.
They say that social media causes a whole range of mental health problems and allows bullies to continue bullying after school hours. As adults, social media doesn’t really open us to much bullying as most people have grown up by this point, but it is still causing mental health problems among this population due to the way people engage on these platforms - have you noticed how people post photos of themselves at parties or events, on vacation, with their new house or car, but hardly ever their latest demand letter to pay a credit card bill or some other bad news.
With lots of people doing this, it can feel like everyone else has a polished, near-perfect life, while yours is full of problems. In truth, everybody’s life has problems, but these don’t get broadcast online. In place of bullying, adults are more likely to face inferiority and loneliness issues with their use of social media and other online platforms. We already see it with seniors who might have trouble getting out of their houses, but there are plenty of younger people who sit in their bedrooms stuck online for too many hours, losing their ability to socialize.
