Focus: Underage social media users

16:06 Gulf News: The minimum age for social media use should be raised to 18.

16:06 Sheela Mahesh: I don’t think raising the minimum age will solve the problems of social interaction through electronic media. Like any interaction, this needs guidance and monitoring. I would be more comfortable if parents took a keener interest in monitoring interaction on Facebook.

16:09 Fatima Suhail: The minimum age limit to be eligible for a social networking account should be raised to 18 years, because children below this age are too young to face the dangers and complexities involved in the cyber world. They can easy fall prey to cyber bullying or become victims of cyber crimes.

16:09 Zibah Fairooz Bari: I agree because most teenagers in this society are mostly addicted to Facebook and Twitter. I’m saying this because teenagers, especially girls, are facing a lot of problems due to social media. They often get bullied or threatened. I read an article recently where a Dubai-based psychologist said that teenage girls are literally selling themselves in exchange for electronic goods and jewellery. Some deaths have also occurred in other countries due to this — teenagers have committed suicide because they were disturbed by all the threats and cyber bullying. Raising the age to 18 for using social media is actually good because then a person is an adult and mature and able to tackle situations. They’re more aware of what is happening within the media.

16:11 Sumera Malik: No, I disagree. I think the minimum age limit does not need to change to 18 years. It is not just social media that influences today’s younger generation. I think we have many other factors influencing younger minds such as the makeup of society, people’s perceptions and the technology itself.

16:11 Sheela Mahesh: But navigating social media is like navigating a road. Do we not hold our children’s hands and teach them to cross the road? Privacy laws cannot be applied to Facebook. Instead we must have minor accounts, similar to bank accounts. I think parents need to strike a deal with their children, irrespective of the law, and allow Facebook usage only under supervision in terms of sharing passwords or setting up privacy settings together.

16:17 Zibah Fairooz Bari: A year ago, I added a stranger on Facebook and he started threatening me, asking me to send all kinds of pictures of myself. Getting scared, I quickly blocked him and never thought about unblocking him again. I learned my lesson at that moment that people shouldn’t be added unless you know them personally.

16:22 Sumera Malik: Today’s society is far more complex. Some of us are far more aware and some aren’t. Yes, some parents may not be aware or have the technical know-how but I think it isn’t really the technical know-how that will help. I think it is what a parent thinks is right or wrong that will help them decide whether their child is in a safe position or not.

16:23 Gulf News: Parents are not aware of the risk they are exposing children to by providing complete internet access.

16:24 Sheela Mahesh: Yes, most parents are not aware. Complete online access is akin to letting your children out in the jungle. I think parents need to be aware of all kinds of dangers that children face. Even as an adult familiar with social media, I am startled by things that pop up and the changes constantly made to social networking sites, so complete internet access is a no-no in my opinion.

16:27 Sumera Malik: Yes, complete internet access for a seven- or eight-year old child could have a negative impact. It is important that parents control their child – everything has a time and limit. However, parents today forget that such pampering, like complete internet access, which they think is just part of upbringing, plays a dangerous role.

16:29 Sheela Mahesh: But there are many benefits to social interaction among children through Facebook. I would prefer transparent communication between parents and children rather than raising age limits. Parents have to take the trouble to get familiar with social media and set ground rules for children.

16:30 Fatima Suhail: The age bar should be raised to 18 in order to have an account since parents these days are unable to monitor their children at all times. The internet should come into existence for youngsters only when they are mature enough to deal with the complex virtual world. But sadly, I have also come across parents who would sit and fill in false information or help their children in creating an account on social networking sites.

16:34 Gulf News: Social media websites are not taking responsibility for their role in the problem of underage users.

16:36 Sheela Mahesh: When we start using anything new, problems will surface. I think social media websites are being irresponsible with their default settings. As users, we can stop that by being vocal about our displeasure.

16:37 Fatima Suhail: Most social networking sites blame it on parents, when actually, they are partly to be held responsible for the safety of underage users.

16:39 Aisha Naseem: Facebook privacy settings should automatically accommodate privacy requirements. The current settings only aggravate the situation. Friends are required to change their settings to make sure your photo does not get viewed by people you don’t want to. How many of us can actually do that? It takes a lot of time and, plainly put, is not reasonable.

16:40 Fatima Suhail: Children this young do not have the technical know-how to make their account more secure and therefore, are not aware of what dangers they might land themselves in. In such cases, it is these social networking sites that should take up the responsibility and make the necessary changes so that the information of minors is not available publicly.

16:40 Zibah Fairooz Bari: I agree, because right now websites are not taking that much responsibility for all the problems that have been arising. Instead, they’re blaming the parents for not being responsible. I heard recently that Apple has been thinking of putting options in their devices to allow parents to check what their teenagers are really doing on social media. Blackberry now has an application which allows parents to restrict some folders such as pictures, so that teenagers cannot share or send photos to other people.

16:42 Fatima Suhail: Also, as websites, the procedures to be able to have an account should be made tougher so that children cannot fake or lie about their information.

16:42 Sumera Malik: I disagree. I believe social media is doing a great job in providing users, be they young or old, with applications to stay in touch with family and friends. I think they are doing their job and fulfilling the society’s wants. I believe they can’t really be blamed for cyber bullying since they are just like any other business. They have the right to introduce such applications and websites. I think the choice depends on each individual.

16:45 Aisha Naseem: The minimum age has nothing to do with social networking. Minimum age cannot define to what extent things may go wrong. Intelligence is not necessarily governed by age. If that is the way we look at it, then probably there should be a minimum age for when you start to learn how to cook, or to pursue a hobby that might be considered dangerous. Parental guidance always wins, not just with social networking, but anything new and unknown.