The use of mobile is also a matter of great concern nowadays. Meanwhile, when the news comes from the far away country Australia that social media has been banned there for children below 16 years of age, Indian parents also wonder whether the government is doing the work that we are not able to do. Can do. Let us know what are the possibilities of such a ban in India.

Nowadays, parents in metropolitan cities are concerned about teenagers who are busy in their rooms with their mobile phones and laptops. In such a situation, Indian parents are also excited by the news of the social media ban for children aged far away from Australia. Global awareness about screen time among children shows that the matter is serious. Know how?

The 15-year-old girl used to paint at home and listen to English songs. The family members did not know English but they never noticed anything unusual in their daughter’s behaviour. The alarm was raised when he tried to harm himself without any reason. This happened two or three more times. The family took help from a psychologist. It turned out that the songs she listens to are full of depression and the pictures she makes are full of violence. The song lyrics are adult and the painting is full of gore. Her parents did not know that the girl was active on social media and she was carrying the virtual stress on her head.

This case came to the attention of cyber safety expert Mukesh Chaudhary. He says that many such cases of teenage children come to him where the child has completely changed due to social media.

Impact of social media on teenage children

Cyber security expert Mukesh Chaudhary mentions another case. A 16-year-old 10th-class student created a fake profile of his teacher edited his objectionable off-scene photo and shared it on social media. The children in the school knew, but neither did any faculty nor the parents of that child. When the matter came to light after investigation, even the parents were surprised as they thought that the child was studying on the laptop.

Similarly, a girl used to open the class half-screen and chat on the other side. After many days, the family members came to know that she was not studying but was instead chatting. Mukesh Chaudhary says, that sometimes by being too active on social media, you see some things that become a hit. Children do not understand whether it is right or wrong. They start following him.

Disadvantages of social media at a young age

We talked to cyber security expert Mukesh Chaudhary, cyber law expert Pawan Duggal, psychiatrist Sameer Malhotra, and educationist Anuradha Joshi, and also to many parents and everyone is seeing the disadvantages of social media which are affecting both the body and mind.

Physical Problems

Disturb the sleep cycle: Doctors also recommend that you should not use your mobile phone a few hours before sleeping. Blu-rays emitted from phones are a danger. If children do not sleep properly at night, they face difficulty in waking up in the morning. If they have any exam then it also gets affected.

Posture Pain- When you look at the phone with your head bent or sitting for a long time, your body posture deteriorates. There is a possibility of spinal pain or cervical pain.

Glasses at an early age – If a child invests too much time on social media, his eyes will be affected. Because of this, children are also wearing glasses at a very young age.

Effect on extra activities- Children’s physical activity is decreasing due to continuous use of phones for many hours. Due to social media, children’s participation in extra-curricular activities has reduced.

Stunt videos become a danger – Children watch videos of people doing stunts on social media and do the same themselves, there is a risk of injury in this.

Drug addiction – Earlier children of 16 to 18 years of age used to take drugs, but now children of 9 to 10 years of age have also started taking drugs of various types. The trend of drug addiction is increasing rapidly.

Impact on the brain- The radiation emanating from mobile phones contains thermal and magnetic radiation, which also has a bad effect on the brain of children. It also causes headaches and hormonal imbalances.

Self Harm: Children have also started doing self harm and if you do not give them the phone then they become very aggressive against the parents.

Mental Problems

Depression- Excessive use of mobile is causing many changes in depression, suicidal thoughts, and behavior.

Decrease in focus – Children’s focus has also decreased due to excessive use of mobile phones. Many researchers have also revealed this.

The effect on learning ability is loss of learning ability and self-control due to excessive use of phones. Due to this many diseases are also occurring.

Aggression – The increasing tension within children under the pressure of likes and dislikes on social media has made them irritable and aggressive and there is a strong possibility of children becoming criminals.

Social media ban for children in Australia

In Australia, the government has banned social media platforms for children under 16 years of age. The reason behind this is that the mental health of the children remains good. Children are greatly affected by social media addiction, cyberbullying, and harmful content. According to this rule, children will not be allowed to create accounts and explore platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat.

Indian children and social media

According to a report by Sentiment, around 93 percent of children between 13 and 17 years of age around the world use social media. Out of 4 crore children in America, 3 crore 70 lakh children use social media. A person spends about 1 hour and 40 minutes per day on social media.

According to a report by the International Journal of Pediatric Research, 87.82% of children in India use social media. Out of which 81.14% of children use WhatsApp, 54.94% of children use Facebook, 10.5% of children use Twitter, 70.61% of children use YouTube, 65.34% use email and 9% of children use other social media platforms.

Is there any law in India?

No separate law has been made in India regarding children’s use of social media. Some rules have been made in the Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDPA) 2023. Section 9 of DPDPA states 3 conditions for handling the data of children under the age of 18. In which the company has to obtain consent from the parent or guardian to create a profile of a child. Along with this, attention has to be paid to the welfare of the children, monitoring them and what kind of advertisements they see.

Should it be banned in India too?

Mukesh Chaudhary says, the world has seen games like Blue Whale before, in which children used to sacrifice their lives while completing various tasks. All this has come from social media platforms. Parents are busy in their lifestyle and hand over mobile phones to their children without any restriction. No such policy has been made for children as to what they are watching on the internet. With an unrestricted mobile in hand, there is no restriction to regulate what buttons the child is pressing and what kind of videos are coming in front of him. Even if some rules are made, no one follows them.

Cyber security expert Dr Pawan Duggal says that the ban in Australia has a good objective but it will not be enforced very much because you have put blood in the mouth of the lion. It will be very difficult to take it back. This kind of thing is not possible in India. The reason behind this is that in India a child below 18 years is considered a minor and a minor cannot come under any law. If an app is banned, its traffic increases further. What happened in Australia cannot happen in India. If it happens, there will be a lot of opposition. This will be a violation of the law of the Indian Constitution. Even if you are a child, you have fundamental rights. Today, your right to access the Internet is a fundamental right to live. He says that India is different from Australia, and the Constitution of India is also different from theirs. The legal framework here is different, so this kind of thing is not possible here. Even if it happens, it will have to face many challenges in the courts.

Children have started making social media their career

Mukesh Chaudhary says, that very few children are aware of careers, now most of the children have started thinking of making social media their career because they are very influenced by social media influencers. If an influencer says that today he is earning 5 crore rupees from one of his posts, then children do not see the journey behind it that he has also spent 10 years behind it.

If the phone is necessary due to studies, then how to manage it?

Mukesh Chaudhary says, that nowadays online school, online coaching, and preparation for competitive exams are also done online. Some coaching centers for competitive exams give their tablets to children. In which other apps are restricted. It is okay to give that device where only educational videos will be shown. When you give a device to a child, parents who are not very educated or who do not have much knowledge of technology, face a lot of difficulty in monitoring their children.

Dr. Sameer Malhotra says that it is the responsibility of the parents to keep an eye on the child’s device to see what their child is doing. If parents keep an eye on them, then the children feel that their phones, laptops, and iPads can be checked anytime.

Also, keep in mind whether the child is using the laptop in his room or studying in the hall, etc. This is not doubting your children but paying attention to them.

It is the responsibility of the society and parents rather than the government

Sardar Patel Vidyalaya Principal Anuradha Joshi says, that nowadays even if children go out to eat with their parents, everyone keeps watching something on their phones. If you have to sit and watch the screen, then what is the point of going out together? Instead of going out, sit at home and watch the screen.

Dr. Anuradha Joshi says small children need a lot of attention from their parents because when they grow up, they start looking for their friend group. If you do not bond with your children when they are below 9 years of age, then you will not be able to bond with them when they are 10 to 11 years old. If you are not able to bond, you will remain misled about what your child is doing. Nowadays there are many such dark webs on the Internet, where it is very easy to mislead a child.

Global awareness of children’s screen time

Mukesh Chaudhary says the situation of children using social media in India is critical. Gaming and social media are addictions for children. The algorithm of social media is such that you do not know for how long you are scrolling the reel. When you watch a video, the algorithm starts showing you similar videos.

Dr. Sameer Malhotra says that all the societies around the world regarding children say that it is not right for children to stay on the screen too much. If we go on connecting everything to the screen, then it is not right.

Some tools of AI are also very dangerous

Experts say some tools of AI are very dangerous. AI is still learning on its own what kind of questions people can ask. Meanwhile, people started asking questions about how mobile phones are hacked, so AI started answering all these. There were also some websites which were closed. If AI is giving the idea of running away from home and committing any big crime, then what can be more dangerous than this? In such a situation, strict rules and laws should be made regarding Artificial Intelligence.

Childhood ending before the age

Experts say that mobile phones are becoming a challenge for parents and society. Where children are retreating from their responsibilities. According to age, children’s responsibility is to study and play sports but they are not paying attention to it. Instead of listening to anything said by parents, they are giving their entire time to social media. Many times children get information more than their age, which is not right at all. Children are not fully matured, there is a limbic system inside their brain, and that maturity comes much later. It is the one that controls our brain. When that rein is not ready yet, children are not listening to the elders, then the problem increases. Children are seeing more than necessary, so they do not find happiness in small things. Children’s childhood is ending before their time.

Dr. Sameer Malhotra says that even if parents do not allow children to use social media at home, then 10 more children are using social media in school, how can you control it? Children form groups among themselves, which puts pressure on them to also use the phone. They start pressuring their parents that they also want to use the phone.

Should there be rules and laws for children?

Cyber law expert Pawan Duggal says that there is no doubt that excessive use of social media is having a very bad effect on children. In India, children are being given mobile phones at a very young age. Parents nowadays have started giving mobile phones to children to keep them quiet. In such a situation, the children of the new generation are sure to go towards downfall. Effective steps will have to be taken to ensure that children do not suffer much loss, but if we want effective steps to be taken through law, then we will not be very successful in that. The reason behind this is that if you tell children today that they don’t want to do this work, then they will do it.

Educationalist Dr. Anuradha Joshi says the ban is not the solution to any problem. If we look at this problem socially, then perhaps we will be more successful. Children will have to be made to understand that the Internet is only a medium, not life. There should be more focus on capacity building. Empower children more. Start education about cyber law and cyber security in school education from the first class itself.