By Cymon Luswata
The internet is not a safe space for children, to be extremely honest. From the music, images, and videos published on social media to movies, you'll always find adult content that any reasonable parent feels their child shouldn't see. Yet, in a highly digitalized world, it's inevitable to run away from the need for a digital presence.
Denying children phones or computers to protect them may turn out counterproductive. The first possible outcome is raising naive children who are disconnected from reality and can barely use gadgets because of limited access. Meanwhile, their counterparts who have used gadgets for the longest part of their lives will be far ahead. How can your children favorably compete with other children who are penetrating the digital space to try and make a living? Digital literacy is one of the top three requirements for employers all over the world.
The second possibility is worse; a child whose peers have access to phones and other gadgets is prone to temptation from those who promise to provide what you can't as a parent. They'll have an easy way of getting them to bed or forcing them into other activities.
So what alternatives are left for you as a parent? Many engage in social media discourse to condemn immoral content and call out figures that publish information that goes against their threshold of morality. This option has its fair share of limitations. Consider how difficult it is to change yourself, and you'll know how little your chances are of changing others. Everywhere these debates happen, you'll find people vigorously defending vulgar content. To others, it's an existential threat because their audiences prefer adult content. Your child's well-being is nothing compared to the survival of their careers in music, film, or as influencers.
But for the argument's sake, let's assume it works. There's no metric or standard threshold for morality. People perceive decency differently, so it's extremely hard to find common ground. Others believe punitive laws would be a better option, but again, because you don't have a standard threshold for morality, it's difficult to strike a balance between protecting conventional freedoms and liberties and crafting laws to limit adult content and/or protect children.
However, laws don't shape societies; societies shape laws. You can't decree to a society because some problems are deeply rooted in the fabric of humans. You can't wake up one day and command behavioral changes. Ask yourself how successful Nsereko's Computer Misuse Amendment has been at fixing the problem he set out to fix.
The bottom line is accepting the hard reality that maybe it's not going to change and then looking for ways to make the delicate balance. Parents ought to familiarize themselves with how the digital space works to help them spot possible threats to their children and guide them through them. Hold clear and open conversations about the content they see on the media, listen to their perspectives, and offer a contrasting view as a parent.
Ask your daughter about her thoughts on musician X's dress code, listen to them, and if you disagree, don't judge their opinion. Instead, offer your own and guide them. Let them know why it's not a good thing to dress a certain way or say and sing certain songs. Listening to them will help you identify the cracks in their logic and also know how much information they may have about certain topics. Parents assume the innocence of children by age, yet sometimes children have access to information that might exceed what you assume they know. Take time off and engage your teenagers, and you'll be surprised how much they know.
Lastly, learning how to use parental controls on gadgets and the internet to screen the content that children have access to and drafting an online timetable to monitor their screen time is crucial. Encourage them to pursue other hobbies such as sports or art to mention a few and not get addicted to social media. Creating alternative sources of pleasure will build their confidence that, in many ways, social media hurts.