It takes just a few clicks to get these kids exposed to wrong contents on the Internet, which is not so pleasant to their well-being. We have become too busy as parents these days, and what most of us do is give the kids tablets and smartphones to get them fully occupied and not to disturb our peace. But then, do we have an exact idea of what these kids could be exposed to?
If we should be sincere, most kids of today are overly curious about everything happening around them. Some of them are even scared of asking questions, so they go straight to the Internet to find answers. In the process, some of these pornographic ads might pop up, and they would want to view them. Even adults are being lured to click on it and have a good time, not to mention kids who might find it entertaining and would always love to keep revisiting, thereby consuming the wrong contents to the detriment of their well-being.
It's no longer news that kids nowadays are owning smart phones at very young ages, and most of their parents don’t even supervise what they watch or how they use the gadgets generally. As parents who don't want to let the minds of their kids get polluted with the negative side of the Internet, we can't start forming woke at the expense of our children's growth process, but rather see it as our duty to shield their minds as much as we can whilst allowing them with gadgets till they are older and wiser.
The society we live in today is the one where both the social media space and the internet are filled with so much uncensored content, and while I wouldn't blame the platform owners as it's very difficult to control everything that goes on the Internet since everyone is looking for views here and there, most of these contents are quite unhealthy to consume for kids, including adults. However, the duties of parents are not limited to guiding jealousy what the children consume. Uncensored content is no no for the kids to consume. I believe we don't want to feed the minds of these kids with negativity at their young age because that would contribute to ruining their lives. An adult can seive what he or she wants to consume depending on the personality of such an adult, but we can't leave the platform owners to control what our kids consume. Their minds aren't too mature to get rid of unwanted content, but rather they may see it as fun, and the end result will be negative.
Personally, I have a family Google Link app created for this purpose because nowadays, the rate of online assignments from school is becoming too much, and sometimes I just have to allow my kids to research on their own, but wherever I am, I see every site they visit on the Internet, and it gives me the opportunity to set boundaries. I think being an intentional parent in this case looks better since we can't control what flys on the Internet but can control to a greater extent what our children consume.
In conclusion, when kids have access to censored content, it becomes easy to corrupt their minds. In order to raise responsible and cultured kids, parents must step up their game in rigidly monitoring what their kids consume. Even though parents can't guarantee that their children will do the right thing at all times, but I think every bit of guidance helps and makes a difference.
This is my response to the #HiveLearners community contest on the topic titled, Uncensored.