Top10news 2024｜Should Children Have Unrestricted Access to The Internet? ︱Author︰To Chun Yiu

Nowadays, no matter young or old, people can access the internet in some form or another, whether through their phones, tablets or computers. A census done by the HKSAR Census and Statistics Department  in 2023 shows that among 2,631,600 households interviewed, a staggering 96.6% of them have internet access at home. The internet has become a centrepiece in modern society and has been integrated into our daily lives. It is undeniable that it improved the quality of life for most. However there’s an underlying problem. 

It is the fact that some children ages 12 or below have unrestricted and independent access to the internet. Unfortunately, With most of the world being on the internet, there are bound to be some bad apples, like scammers, groomers or violent content. While most adults have learned to navigate the crevices of the internet, many children are susceptible to bad influences like crude language. If an adult using the internet was like playing with fire with a fireproof suit on, then kids using the internet would be like playing with fire without safety precautions in mind, hurting themselves and those around them.  

As someone who has touched the web from a young age,  I firmly believe that children below the age of 12 are not mentally mature enough for unrestricted access to the web as they still carry hints of naivety and take things at face value, leading them to be easily influenced. Although applications and services have been provided to parents to restrict internet access and protect their child, yet why does this problem still persist? For this we have to turn to the following reasons. 

The internet being used as a substitute for parenting. Many parents delegate the task of teaching and parenting to the internet as a way for the kids to quiet down and keep them occupied while they work or rest. While it is understandable that some parents have to work many jobs or don’t have enough time to take care of their children due to a myriad of reasons. nonetheless, this can result in a cause and effect chain if not taken care of properly.

Firstly, there are numerous studies that currently show that there is a major decrease in attention span in kids due to the rise of short-form content on platforms such as Youtube, Tiktok, Instagram or even Xiaohongshu. These short-form contents are addictive doses of dopamine that causes kids to spend even more time on social media, thus less spent on studying or learning new knowledge. Although some may argue that these clips can be educational, Most videos will be of the entertainment nature as the algorithms of social media are more likely to recommend videos that garner the most attention. Suffice to say, they are not very beneficial as a medium of learning.  

Secondly, due to vicarious learning, children may copy actions and behaviour from others online. As mentioned before, the internet is largely unregulated, meaning that there is freedom of speech. The same could be said for behaviour, some are polite and caring while some are rude with crude language. If a child adopts and shows these toxic behaviours in real life, it may very well cause them to be viewed as unfriendly and unaccepted by their peers. They may not develop essential social skills required in current society like maintaining long-term friendships, interacting with unfamiliar faces and resorting back to communicating online.  

Some may argue that giving children freedom to roam the internet can help them get an early understanding of it as well as getting an early grasp on technology. These are some good benefits but they only work in scenarios where the parent takes the time to personally guide and educate the child to safely use the internet. Unfortunately, these kinds of parents are far and few between. 

Furthermore, even if a kid’s attitude and behaviour can be corrected, you cannot stop them from being interested in current trends due to them being naturally intrigued in everything that is new to them. It would not be a problem if these trends were just for fun and games. In actuality, some of these trends are dangerous and should not be performed. For example, the blackout challenge where participants are encouraged to choke themselves or hyperventilate until they blackout, or the fire challenge where participants spray hairspray onto a mirror then ignite it both of which can cause serious health complications. Worst part is that these trends were promoted as “exciting” and trendy challenges to kids. As it gets more attention, the algorithm recommends it to more and more people, garnering mass attention to very dangerous trends. Leading to more children trying them out only to end up with grievous injuries or even death. 

To sum up, children will always be curious about their surroundings and what they interact with. It is perfectly fine to let children access the internet. However it is the responsibility of parents to teach and restrict the usage of media in addition to preventing children from exposure of inappropriate content to the best of their abilities.