Summary Of It Was A Mistake To Let Kids Onto Social Media

The opinion article, “It Was a Mistake to Let Kids Onto Social Media Sites. Here’s What to do Now” by Yuval Levin, states that parents should not let their children on social media because of the potential harm it exposes kids and teens to. Levin begins by explaining how the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act does not allow anyone under 13 to have a social media account. Still, it’s easy to lie about age online which allows younger children to use the apps. He then goes on to note the harmful effects of social media, for example, bullying and harassment. The author does mention some of the benefits like online connections and discovering new things on social media. But, Levin continues his criticism by stating that the minimum age should

I won’t deny that social media can have negative impacts on the youth especially since it is such a vital developmental period of their life (2). Levin makes it clear by saying, “Documents also pointed to potential links between regular social media use and depression, self-harm and, to some extent, even suicide” (Levin) (1). But the author fails to acknowledge that social media is useful outside of socialization (2). Social media is a core part of how the younger generation obtains news and information (3). Things online spread fast which causes serious topics to go viral (3). We don’t read newspapers or watch the nightly news because social media is our news outlet (4). In our digital world, it’s undeniably everywhere and essentially inescapable for this generation (2). Continuing, Levin disagrees with the current minimum social media age requirement which can be seen when he says, “By raising the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act’s minimum age from 13 to 18 (with an option for parents to verifiably approve an exemption for their kids as the law already permits), and by providing for effective age verification and meaningful penalties for the platforms…” (Levin) (1). Levin suggests that 18 should be the minimum age for social media but in reality that is completely unrealistic because if that were the case then teens would be able to drive, have a job and possibly graduate high school before having social media (2-3). I agree that the age could possibly be a little higher around 14-15 but even then it’s not going to change much because teens will find ways to work around these restrictions (3). Similarly, real age verification is a good idea in theory, but it would be difficult to implement because not all teens have/know their social security.