IS THE INTERNET HURTING CHILDREN?

By Omolo Stephen

The explosive growth of social media, smartphones and digital devices is transforming our kids' lives, in school and at home. Research tells us that even the youngest of our children are migrating online, using tablets and smartphones, downloading apps. As if that is not enough, most kids nowadays join Facebook as early as 14 years old whenever they can access Internet-which technically requires users to be 13 years old to open an account.

Teenagers’ spend a lot of their time on Internet, averagely 6 hours a day, seriously! The fact is, by primary school, our kids today are spending more time with media than with their parents or teachers, and the challenges are vast: and by high school, I assure you most of the young people regret what they've already posted about themselves online to the widely documented rise in cyber-bullying to the hyper-sexualization of female characters in video games.

These challenges also include traditional media and the phenomenon of "ratings creep" in the movies that our kids consume. Movies today -- even PG-rated ones -- contain significantly more sex and violence, on average, than movies with the same rating 10 or 20 years ago. The impact of heavy media and technology use on kids' social, emotional and cognitive development is only beginning to be studied, and the emergent results are serious. While the research is still in its early stages, it suggests that the Internet may actually be changing how our brains work. This does not only affect kids but also University students: no matter nowadays there is low level of creativity and innovation in our centers of excellence.

It therefore goes without saying that digital media have also altered our fundamental notions and respect for privacy. Young people now routinely post and share private, personal information and opinions on social media platforms without fully considering the potential consequences. For example, one posting a something like “I am hot today- who gonna kiss me”. Surely, is this worth? Showing us how immoral you are, mark you- such a post is done at around noon on a working day!

On suggestion, we urgently need a public conversation in our country among key stakeholders: parents, educators, technology innovators, policymakers and young people themselves. The dialogue must focus on the ways social media and technology enable our kids to give up their privacy before they fully understand what privacy is and why it's important to all of us. We should also discuss how social media can help empower kids to find their voice, find their purpose and potentially create the next technology revolution.