Blog Post #3

Instagram and Social Media for Kids 13 and Under

Blog #2

I think the new versions of social media are damaging to kids and younger people due to the amount of access they have and how influenced they can be. For example, If a younger kid sees their favourite influencer do dangerous and inappropriate things, they would want to emulate and replicate the same behaviour the person they look up to does. This is scary and dangerous for society because younger kids are starting to learn new things that they aren't supposed to know at their age. The number of kids and younger people doing more and more reckless things because they've seen online and are trying to emulate makes it scarier when something actually dangerous is trendy and how kids and younger people that get influenced easily will do. We have seen challenges and trends take lives like the Tide Pod challenge where people would eat them and record themselves doing so when they are poisoning themselves and doing it for likes and views. We have been in a weird stage where kids are trying to skip school and find work/money doing things like social media and although you can become famous and earn money from it through ways that are creative, wonderful and eye-opening. Sometimes kids would try and do things to hurt themselves and others around them to get views which can lead to problems and dangerous scenarios in the future and right now.

Knowing that this can be harmful to me and my siblings, I didn't have social media until I was in Grade 8 and I didn't really feel the need to have it because all my friends in elementary were all so nice and we would just talk through video game chats and voice chats. 

I think the kid's version of the apps is always safer and better for younger kids because it kids them entertainment through filters and ensures the content they are seeing is appropriate for them. For example, Youtube kids is much safer due to filters and limiting the content they can see and ensuring that it's safe and appropriate for kids (no swearing/cussing, the content is appropriate, violence is kept to a minimum, etc.) 

I think that age limits are super important especially when there is content and information that can be shared without filters, edits and fact checks. Anyone can post and share information online and especially on social media, information can spread quickly which can be either good or bad. The use of social media to cyberbully, make fun of and wreak havoc on someone else's life is so much easier online and it's better for kids and younger people to stay off of it for as long as they can. It'll make them more sociable because the only interactions they'll get is face to face and although I have written about the negatives, Introverts and shy people enjoy talking online and find it more comforting and can be helpful as well. As an introvert, it is much easier to convey my thoughts and emotions in text rather than in person and it is much easier and stress-reducing messaging people you enjoy talking to compared to in person.