Build bridges

There is a lot of talk about regulating social media these days, and rightfully so.

I do believe that the Internet, not just social media, is a breeding ground for the spread of (mis)information. Anyone can say anything. This could pose a problem, especially for more impressionable users. It could also lead to the abuse of certain platforms to cyberbully, scam, fuel social division, etc. This is not new. I remember Yahoo! Games was a thing and I would hop onto the website with the sole intention of playing Reversi or chess (yes, such a nerd). Then, some random person would initiate a chat and ask for nudes, send nudes, or talk nonsense about God-knows-what. Mind you, Yahoo doesn't really exist on anyone's radar these days... so this "issue" goes a LONG way back. Anyway, the point is that as long as humanity exists, abusers exist, and there were less rules, regulations and protections back then.

So what can we do to mitigate the harm? Ok, yes...Social media platforms need to play their part and ramp up efforts to detect, remove and block these abusers. This comes at the price of undermining some sort of freedom to privacy and freedom of speech, and every user should be willing to pay the price. And this is another can of worms that I shall pretend I didn't open.

..Speaking of users, there are two main groups – minors and non-minors. I will just talk about the former group of users here because they are the crux of the debate.

For minors, I think they may not fully comprehend what freedom is, what predators are, how to detect fake news, how to differentiate pictures with filters/good angles, etc. Hence, I think the main problem for this group of users is the lack of education ad supervision. And who should really educate and supervise children? I don't know about you but... how about their parents, caregivers and teachers? I am not a parent so I am afraid that if I speak about “parenting” and “education”, I would be cancelled. However, I think it is safe to say that “parenting” and “education” could possibly include limiting screen time, being aware of what the children are doing online, establishig trust and communication so children can share about their online experiences and concerns, etc. And I suppose the people in the best position to do all of that (and more) would be the parents, caregivers and teachers, no?

Having said all that, it is easy for us to assume that these people (especially parents) possess the knowledge to pass down to their children. BUT what if the parents are not literate, not IT-savvy or worse, not even present in their children’s lives? The first gatekeepers need to be willing and ready to put in the hard work and empower the young users with everything necessary to make smarter decisions for themselves or feel comfortable enough to seek advice to make smarter decisions for themselves.

Social media platforms can only do this much to sieve out all the bad. And even if they do sieve out the bad, there will be a time lag and jurisdictional technicalities to overcome. So, it is not a silver bullet or a panacea to stopping online child abuse, bullying, teen suicide, and all these big heavy issues that get people so riled up. Instead of making the companies, or worse, the CEOs personally liable, perhaps it is time to redirect our focus on preventing, collaborating and… if I may say so myself… on upbringing.