The Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund has cautioned about the dangers of banning the use of social media for children.
Earlier this week, Australia became the first country to ban social media use by children under the age of 16.
Youth Leadership Programmes Manager at the fund, Samke Mnguni, has warned that the ban may have its own dangers.
Mguni says South Africa needs to consider the full implications of the ban before it is implemented.
“Though I cannot say that we fully support Australia’s decision to ban social media platform use by children under the age of 16, we think Australia was bold to take this decision because it demonstrated that child welfare is more important than profits. So, we are also still reviewing this decision and see if it is a decision we can emulate and how, because the decision to ban social media platforms used by children has its dangers. When parents refuse their children to use social media platforms, it does not mean that the child will not use them. This means as parents, there needs to be firmness and constructive conversations with their children on the implications of the use of social media platforms.”
Early Childhood Development Specialist Kwanda Ndoda says parents need to abide by the strict screen time guidelines set by the World Health Organisation.
“Screentime is the time spent watching a screen. The World Health Organisation has strict guidelines that everyone needs to follow for the benefit of their own health, which includes guidelines on how parents can handle screentime for children, from the amount of time spent by children watching screens such as phones and iPads however, they do not include television time. One of the guidelines is if a parent allows a child screentime, it is important for the parent to be close by and monitor the child while the child is on screen ”
Organisation urges social media ban for under-16s in SA:
