I and my wife have been going over some issues lately, trying to deduce answers to the question of, when is the appropriate age and time to give a child, a mobile phone, internet access or his or her first smartphone?
Why? There have been many social vices committed lately by youths, and many have been associated with early exposure to the internet, smartphone and social media. Though this is debatable.
The Nigerian social media space is still presently agog and partly in shock over the story of a 10 year old girl engaged in explicit sex with her school mates while on a school excursion. It is said, she had access to the internet, smartphone and social media at a very early age which was deduced as one of the causes, aside from the absence of good parental guide.
There are other stories of young girls who left their schools and travelled interstate without their parents or guardians knowledge, with the intention of meeting strangers, friends or boyfriends who they found on social media. And the end result is either they get sexually abused, kidnapped or worst still killed for ritual purposes.
There are also the youths who spend most of their valuable time on social media, watching people of different ages brandishing luxury items of different forms: wads of dollars, pounds, euro etc., expensive designer clothes, cars ,houses all mostly gotten from fraudulent and get rich quick schemes, and youths gullibly believe all the gibberish.
So you see many youths of today not ready to burn the midnight candle and go through the real process of education, hard work and perseverance needed for their lives. But rather you see them looking for a short cut, which involves the get rich quick schemes, all to make the quick buck. They get involved in robbery, kidnapping and any other fraudulent scheme.
The internet, smartphone and social media are here to stay, they are providing numerous invaluable uses in education, communication, health, manufacturing, technology and so many other areas of our working and daily life. Their advantages and benefits are just too numerous.
Many youths today who got introduced to the internet at a very early age have become technological protégés and gurus, creating and developing new inventions and innovations, that positively changed the way we live today.
But the question still remains, what do you do or what discipline do you implement or what red line do you draw as a parent or guardian, to prevent your child from being corrupted by the internet, smartphone and social media at a very early age?
Kindly make or add your opinion in the comment section, thank you.