Young people spend nine hours a day using media: Study

KUWAIT: The public prosecution has ordered juvenile police to question children who misuse social media applications and hold their families responsible for allowing them to use those apps. The new instructions are in line with rules issued by the supreme national childhood committee of the health ministry applicable to children 13 years old and younger.

Iman Hussain, a mother of two, told Kuwait Times that the new rules are a great step to control 'social media abuse'.

"Everyone wants to be famous. They use their cute children to show off on social media to get more likes, shares and followers," Hussain said. She noted that parents nowadays only care about how they can attain a fancy life by getting more followers, then more ads. "Children with poor communication and interaction skills find the internet to communicate easily with others and satisfy their emotions. Your child should be happy with their family life and the network of close relationships so that they are not vulnerable to emotional exploitation," she added.

For Ashraqat Abu Raddaha, who has one son, social media is a way to keep the child busy and learn new things through educational videos. "When I allow my son to watch videos online, I always place the computer where the whole family can see it - not in the bedroom or out of sight. Social media are often associated with intrusion into our homes as unwanted guests, but it is necessary to change this pattern of use, with some care and guidance."

Amal Nasr, a mother of four, expressed her anger on how teenagers use social media. "This is the most dangerous age," she said. "I had a hard time preventing my children from using social media. Parents are not the only one to blame, but also the school and society. Also, parents may have work most of time and large families are harder to monitor." She added that she always find inappropriate videos on what is supposed to be YouTube for kids. "I downloaded this app that is supposed to have videos for children, but it keeps showing inappropriate episodes of Spiderman. It has such a bad influence on my child," she said.

Nasr pointed out that parents must monitor their children and set age limits on social media sites, as some websites require the user to be over 13 years old. "Also, the most important rule is not to publish personal information such as addresses and phone numbers. Your children watch you the way you watch them. Be honest and talk about the proper use of social networking sites and have a very open discussion," she added.

According to a large-scale study conducted by Common Sense Media, young people spend nine hours a day using media for their enjoyment. The study explored how kids aged 8 to 18 use media, studying their level of enjoyment, frequency of use and amount of time they devote to a wide array of media activities and devices. The study discovered that the real impact of social media began to affect children who were moving up to secondary school - in year 7. Social media apps such as Snapchat, Instagram and WhatsApp are most popular with this age group.

We live in a digital age, but social media is putting young people at an emotional risk, according to the report. Children who use social media platforms such as Snapchat and Facebook can find themselves under pressure to compete with peers for social validation.

Faten Omar