GUWAHATI: A recent poll by GPlus found that almost 84% people believe that social media should be banned for children under 16 in India.
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Over 2514 users participated in the poll, which was conducted on November 27, with a majority of almost 84% people saying yes, 13% saying no and 3% saying they are 'Not Sure'.
Supporting the ban, a mother of two kids said, "It will be a good initiative. Kids nowadays are too engrossed in their mobile phones and it's hindering their growth and talents. They are not interested in anything else at all. When we were growing up, we played sports and took music and dance lessons after school everyday. Now they go home and start playing online games or watching something on their phone. It's not good for their health and wellbeing."
Another person stated, "Children are using very bad language nowadays as they are getting influenced by those YouTubers and all. It's alarming how normal using such bad words has become. Who knows what other content they are getting exposed to at such a young age?"
However, many people voiced their apprehension about the effectiveness of such measures, saying that it would lead to an increase in the number of fake profiles. An Instagram user named Paras Aryal suggested that verifications be done using official IDs. "There should be verify pan Card system," he said.
A Guwahati-based psychologist stated that a restriction like this would have both negative and positive effects. He said, "Such a ban would negatively impact education as kids are taking online classes nowadays and information is passed in WhatsApp groups. If the kids are misusing social media, the parents are responsible and they need to be more vigilant."
The Australian Parliament passed a bill on November 29, banning social media access to children under 16 in the country; it will become effective next year.
