Mumbai: The proposal to impose a ban on social media use for children below the age of 16 in the state of Karnataka sparked a debate on whether a similar ban should be implemented in Maharashtra.
The proposal comes amid rising concerns about excessive screen time, declining academic focus, behavioural changes, and mental health challenges among teenagers. The government stated that unrestricted access to smartphones has contributed significantly to social media obsession, exposing children to harmful content and, in some cases, substance abuse networks.
With the objective of preventing adverse effects of increasing mobile usage on children, usage of social media will be banned for children under the age of 16.
While some educators did not agree with the views. "I am completely against the move. A ban will lead to kids finding unethical means to be on the platforms which will be difficult to monitor. We in fact need to educate the students and teach them to use social media responsibly. This move blurs the lines between the government, school and parents. Moreover, at 16, children are almost adults so the age is not appropriate as well. Several mainstream platforms by default enforce age restrictions to under-13 kids," said Francis Joseph, an educationist.
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Swati Vats, President of the Podar education Network said, "It is good to enforce a ban and it should be implemented in all the states. The thinking brains of children under-16 is not developed yet, and they do not have the capacity to handle the barrage of things happening online, so it is a welcome move.
However, the enforcement will be difficult as the ban has been brought after the children started using the product and they have learnt how to use it. The children will find different ways to use the platforms, so the ban should be paired with digital literacy - where students are taught how, what and why as a part of the curriculum. This will teach the students self-regulation. Otherwise, the ban will be futile."
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