Using social media Websites is among the most common activity of today's children and adolescents.
Vivian Ogochukwu, 17, a final year student of Federal Government Girls College said "I cannot live without my Blackberry phone. I use it to chat with my friends. I now have over three hundred from all over the world on facebook. I know what is happening in their lives and they also keep in touch with me. We share memorable pictures. My father is even my friend on facebook." Asked if it has changed her behaviour and lifestyle, the teenager said, "No, I can only say that it has exposed me to things I didn't know existed, people, their culture and traditions. It has also given me the opportunity to relate with my friends. We spend hours in the night chatting with each other. I also use the phone for my assignments. So it is good".
Another 'addicted' facebook user is Daniel Pam, an undergraduate in one of the federal universities. He said, "I don't think there is anybody in this jet age that doesn't use the internet. It has helped us in different ways. It has also made life easy. We can now know what is happening in any part of the world using it. I use it to chat with my girlfriend without stressing myself to visit her personally. I know we also get to see some bad things, but you can decide what you want to get from the social media. I will rather have the social media than anything else, it keeps the world united."
But Paul Adebayo, a pastor and psychologist differs. Speaking on the benefits of social network on the youths, the father of three said "as much as I am happy that its coming has reduced the stress of running home to watch the news, keeping in touch with friends at the press of a pin and so on, I also think the social media is not good for our children. Some children have been initiated into evil cults, pornography, bad gang, some have learned to do evil things from the internet like making bombs at the speed of a dial. Teenagers now sextet each other, some go as far as exposing their bodies through the social media to their friends and so on. The social media has not helped our youths at all. Children no longer give time to the homework because they could get answer at the touch on the iPhone. They have lost value for parental love and guidance because they are always on the net or phones, chatting with their friends or reading rubbish that changes their perception about other people. There is also the loss of dignity and degradation of human life. Have you noticed how the youth react when there is an accident, instead of reaching out to help the victims, they will be busy taking pictures or recording the disaster and then upload the images on YouTube, facebook or other online fora. Social media has allowed them to take their life online with some learning the art of criminality. Because nobody monitors what they do online, they tend to go the extra mile and visit sites that are not healthy and dangerous for the mind. I have seen cases where a child started getting visits form a strange friend in the night, the parent will hear him talking to somebody and when they go to the room, they won't see anybody. When they ask him, he will point out to an imaginary person until they sought deliverance because we couldn't handle the problem. Another girl got the image of the head of an evil creature when she requested for a picture of one of her online boyfriends. She started having nightmares until they brought her to us. Some of these young people pretend on the social media and do all manner of things while with parent, they pretend as if they are still innocent. Older men who are perverts also target such young people for their perversion. Youths who are addicted to the social media are at some risk of being exposed to ills like bullying, sexual experimentation, cyberbullying, lack of privacy, they can also indulge in "sexting." And always suffer from lack of sleep, there is also the risks of improper use of technology, lack of privacy, sharing too much information, or posting false information about themselves or others. The social media has its merits and demerits because it can mobilise people to read the words, preach the word and understand it. The demerits could be the false appearance of intimacy and community without enabling the substance of embodied friendship. Whether we like it or not, if we want to build a stable generation, we need to relate with each other physically. The society is decaying because of our own reluctance to share space and meals together, and to enter into environments and social situations that require our physical presence".
A mother of two who seems happy with the advent of social media is Mrs Helen Terhemgbe and she said "everything in life has its advantage and disadvantages. It all depends on you- the end user. I am a teacher and social media has really helped me in my career. It has made me to be up to date on latest teaching techniques and also taught me how to teach very well and easy. I also used the media to learn how teachers do their things in other parts of the world. If a child is abusing the social media, then we should blame the parents because they are not watching their children well. My daughter knows the computer and these iPhones more than me, yet I make sure that I monitor how she uses it. If we can use the social media well, it could be an effective weapon in promoting the human and right. We all know how the social media has been helpful in disseminating information, we get to hear the latest news on social media with pictures instead of relying on rumours or half-truths like it used to be. The only way we can stop the abuse of the social media is when a regulatory agencies is created to monitor them. For me as a teacher, I believe the social media has made it possible for children and adults alike to remain connected with friends and family, sharing pictures and life experiences, exchanging ideas, given them opportunities to interact with people from all over the world where they learn different cultures a part of their education.
Garba Bello, a medical practitioner and father of five boys also believes that "It is important that parents evaluate the sites their child visit once in a while. We must also tell them the dangers involved in visiting some of these sites. Besides, I don't encourage parents to buy smart phones for children under 18 years because you cannot always be there to know what they do. Social media is a distraction to and can lead to psychological and health issues; anxiety, depression, and other psychological. You need to talk to your kids. Research has found that people who are socially insecure are more likely to get addicted to social networking site. If you notice, you will see that, children who are hooked on the social media have increased levels of violence, extremism in everything they do and exhibit less collaboration and empathy. Reports have shown that, women with breast cancer who feel secure on social media tend to have stronger stimulated TNF-alpha responses, a compound that is produced by immune-system cells that can cause tumour regression and increase recovery but continuous addiction to the screen could raise your risk of cancer. When young people spend too much time on social media sites, they begin to show symptoms of depression, changing sleep and eating habits, mood swings, or becoming socially isolated from other people and even loved ones.
Parents can control this addiction by ensuring that, the young people spend time more offline than online, they set aside family time for all to participate, encourage them to bring their friends personally into the house rather than talking to them on social media only, ensure that young persons' engage in more exercises and restriction to social media usage. I believe that the social media is a major distraction to young persons and you can notice this from their grades in schools. As a Muslim, I also believe that as much as we are encouraged to allow our children mingle with others, there is the need for parents to ensure that the young person does not use his or her account on social network for sexting, pornography and forbidden matters, as this is sin.
Thanks
