Social Media: the End of Innocence
A long day has ended. You’ve finally snuggled down under the duvet and heaved a sigh of relief. You’re just about to switch the light out when, suddenly, without warning, the bedroom door is thrown open and peace is shattered as your best friend bursts in.
He’s followed by two of your other friends, your mum, your boss and — weirdly — someone you met once, six months ago, whom you barely even remember. All of them clamour for your attention. They either want your verdict on something that simply can’t wait, or they want ‘a quick chat’ — apart from the guy at the back, that is, who just wants to be your friend (really?).
Sounds ridiculous, right? Yet that’s what most of us experience every day. The only difference, of course, is that the intrusion is virtual and likely to come via a social media platform.
Now take the same scenario, only this time it’s not you. This time it’s your thirteen-year-old cousin, sister or daughter, and the people barging in on her are not her friends, or her mum, or anyone that she wants to see. And this time, the things they want to show her, or say to her, are far from friendly. How does she shut the bedroom door on this?
Truth is, she probably can’t.
The Childwise Monitor Report 2020, published this January, found that, of the 2000 5–16-year-olds surveyed, 57% slept with their mobile phones next to their beds. The report cites Snapchat, Instagram, WhatsApp and recent rapid riser, Tik Tok, among those platforms regularly used. Just like us adults, our children are always connected; always wired.
While that is not, in itself, a bad thing in today’s society, where fears for child safety are rife; it is comforting to know our children are always within reach. But the mushrooming effect of our enthusiastic embrace of social media tended, at least initially, to brush aside any negativity associated with it.
However, that honeymoon was well and truly short-lived. Now, it seems that, almost every day, we read stories ranging from the Cambridge Analytica scandal to micro-targeting of voters to manipulate the outcome of general elections, or even Brexit.
We are adults though and, as such, it’s our responsibility to educate ourselves on the risks associated with our social media usage and digital engagement. However, recent stories, such as those about online abuse directed at female politicians, those from minority groups, or journalists, show us it’s not that easy. So, if we, as adults, have problems, what about our young people facing the same issues?
One answer to that question is all too terrible. Tragedies, such as the suicide of Molly Russell, are not isolated incidents. Molly’s father, Ian Russell, believes her death was aided by the content she had access to via her Instagram feed. This had led to the service providers themselves acting to remove potentially harmful content before it is seen. But Mr Russell, now at the forefront of the campaign for improved online safety, does not believe they are as effective as they should be. Indeed, a recent article in The Telegraph reported finding ‘graphic self-harm images’, with some accounts posting them actually being promoted as a result of algorithms used.
Terms such as ‘cyber-bullying’ have become commonplace. While bullying has always been an issue among children and young people, the difference now is that they are always connected; a child’s home is no longer the sanctuary it once was. The long reach of the social media arm means there is often no escape from those who gain satisfaction from the misery of others.
We see schools incorporating lessons on resilience to counter these effects and they encourage their pupils not to suffer in silence. Academics carry out research and offer evidence on strategies and techniques to challenge it, yet incidents of self-harm and mental health issues among our young people continue to climb dramatically. The parent in me wonders what on earth is going on…
While evidence is far from conclusive that such problems stem from social media, or digital engagement generally in our young people, many parents and professionals agree that the fundamental change this has wrought in the experience of childhood and adolescence has some part to play. At a time when young brains are maturing, boundaries are stretched and the need for acceptance and approval is at, arguably, a life-time high, it is easy to see the difficulty faced when trying to escape any negative influence if it has the capacity to never leave you.
It is often said that childhood is growing shorter — I can’t help but wonder if social media is a fundamental nail in its coffin.
