An important topic that deserves more attention is the age at which young children are given electronic devices. I personally think that the costs outweigh the benefits for this particular issue, and although kids eventually will be mature enough to possess such devices, the situation differs from child to child and should be given a significant amount of consideration by their caretakers. 

To start off, staring at a screen is not good for the eyes for obvious reasons. Additionally, children under the age of six or seven generally do not know how to control themselves, so they might be holding their tablets or phones two to three inches away from their faces, ultimately ruining their developing eyesight. Many media creators also specifically make their content addicting to watch; as stated previously, with the lack of self-control, young children may very likely fall into a rabbit hole of television, video games, and social media. 

This goes for all children under the age of 15, but kids should be trying to make the most out of their childhoods during this time instead of wasting their youth mindlessly scrolling through social media feeds. Finding your own personality through personal valuable experiences rather than following random people on the internet is essential as well. Elementary school students, especially, should be taking advantage of bonding with their peers and establishing long-lasting relationships and friendships. First to eighth grade is the prime time to build friendships because the stress and social pressure of high schools are a lot more restricting. Most students have to allocate more time to focusing on their studies and preparing for their futures instead of trying to build new deep friendships, and most friend groups would be relatively hesitant to “accept” new people.

Most teenagers today have social media apps such as Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok. It is an established fact that influencers do not always post what is “real” and genuine. There are a lot of photo retouching, posing, and other factors that help influencers look their best. It is inevitable that people will compare themselves to these “perfect” influencers, and being exposed to this kind of “toxicity” and unrealistic standards can greatly lower the self-esteem of adults, let alone a child under the age of 13. I believe it is better for children to grow up without the burden of being like, acting like, and looking like seemingly perfect people on the internet who—most of the time—hide behind a giant curtain of editing, makeup, and fake smiles. Not exposing their children to social media by not giving them electronics can let parents safely protect them from these harms. Although there are indeed some influencers out there who promote good things, it is better to be safe than sorry.

Eventually, there will come a time when children will need electronics to communicate with their peers, do schoolwork, and have a personal storage space where they can have privacy. Once they have shown sufficient self-control, maturity, and understanding, then it will be a good time for them to be given their own electronics. The age definitely varies for every child, but I would suggest between the ages of 10 to 13.

Photo courtesy of PARENTMAP.COM