Response to “Your Igloo or Mine?”

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After reading this article, I was appalled by the shocking statistics that were stated. A whopping 28.5 million kids are logging onto social networking sites - and that figure is only representative of the United States. This is because the target audience of these social networking websites is kids; hence, there are many features on the site that would capture the attention of such kids. This shows that kids could be neglecting responsibilities in the non-virtual world. This could be detrimental as it would affect the future of our society.

Firstly, is it a healthy behavior for kids to be logging onto social networking websites? Yes, there may be filters on the site which disallow unhealthy content such as vulgarity, but the internet is so huge that it can hardly be considered a safe and controlled environment. Exposure of such material could change the lives of kids forever. This is because images such as nudity can be easily etched onto the minds of these children. Furthermore, due to curiosity, these preteens could search for pornography or other undesirable materials after being exposed to it, and all these negative influences could ruin their future.

What I find disturbing is that these social networking websites are targeting children as their main audience. The marketing of these websites is certainly a lucrative market, but shouldn’t the people behind these websites spare a thought for the younger generation and analyze the consequences of these children logging onto them? This I feel, is a question of ethics. The people who run these social network websites are actually aware of the consequences, but being money-minded, they would rather attract preteens to the websites, knowing that at a young age, they are easily manipulated and can succumb to peer pressure.

However, we should not just blatantly push the blame onto social networking websites alone. Proper parenting skills are needed to ensure that children do not frequently log on to such websites. For example, understanding the concept behind such websites and placing the computer in a public area such as the living room would be a good start. Parents should also talk to their children about unhealthy materials on the internet and advise their children how to stay away from them. One thing parents should keep in mind that is that it is never too early to talk to your children about these topics, for prevention is better than cure.