Florida is sooner or later passing a bill to ban kids under sixteen from social media. The idea behind the law is to protect kids from danger, etc. The ban will affect kids when it comes to educating themselves online because social media is a big part of social and visionary life for teens, and younger. The internet is a place where many, especially teenagers can express themselves however they want, and it’s being forcefully removed from kids who will be unable to experience creatively or be educated further.
According to raisingchildren.net.au, “Social media can connect pre-teens and teenagers to online global groups based on shared interests.” For example, hobbies and interests are widely spread on social media, meaning children can use social media to follow their interests and learn about new ones.
Social media has various ways of allowing kids to express themselves, and if it’s taken away, children cannot learn, find interests, or be creative in any way. Learning is the most important for children trying to educate themselves about what’s going on globally, but also socially, when people post issues it helps children to learn from their past mistakes and use it in real life. Children can use the advantage of apps counting Youtube, tiktok, etc to find more information about anything. Especially youtube, it gives a way of learning through videos which can be useful for lots of kids who are visual learners and possibly auditory learners. In 2015, youtube created youtube kids for young children to give them a safer and simpler place to search their interests through an online video.
As stated by Youtube kids, “Youtube kids was created to give kids a more contained environment that makes it simpler and more fun for them to explore on their own.” Even without Youtube kids, there are still parental rights parents can set up for their kids, so they can only view certain things that are appropriate and safe. Without saying, children are being educated with youtube with the endless opportunities of information that can be searched and it’s not affecting kids in a negative way whatsoever.
A great app kids also can stay safe and help benefit from is Tik Tok. Although frowned upon as being a not so great source for learning, it still has a place for children to express freely and learn new things. Teachers also can utilize Tiktok for lessons on specific subjects to teach. By using tiktok in the classroom, students can really enjoy the app while learning at the same time.
Overall, social media is not a harmful place for children to learn or be themselves in any way, but a great opportunity open for many young teens, which should continue to stay an option for all.
