Is age restriction for social media use the only way?

 

 I remember back in 2007, the government under the Abdullah Ahmad Badawi administration had suggested that bloggers be registered to curb negative content, especially towards the ruling government.

This was during a period when blogging had just started gaining popularity, and we saw bloggers like Rocky’s Bru, Jeff Ooi and Tony Pua rising in popularity for blogging about politics and social issues.

If you remember, it was also during that time that the government of the day had initiated defamation proceedings against Rocky’s Bru (veteran journalist Ahirudin Atan) and Jeff Ooi (who later became a DAP MP) for things they wrote.

Of course, many critics were very vocal about what the government was considering doing. They were saying that the government didn’t understand blogging and the internet, and it was akin to registering personal diaries.

We weren’t all naive and could read between the lines. The reason for the suggestion was implied - the administration wanted to curb negative comments against them and wanted to control the media (or “new” media at that time).

Luckily, nothing came out of that idea because there were just too many people who thought that the idea was ridiculous (thankfully!). I think that it was also because it was impossible to implement such a thing that would involve so many people.

Over the years since then, there have been other attempts by the different administrations to curb freedom of expression and thought. Many were absurd.

At one time, there was talk that everyone producing videos, even personal ones on YouTube and other social media platforms, should get a shooting permit and production license from the authorities. It didn’t pan out, of course.

Control and censorship

This leads me to today, where the Communications Ministry initiated discussions on creating a rule where social media access can only be given to those who are 16 years old and above, requiring age verification to control it.

This is a bit different from the idea floated in 2007 regarding the registration of bloggers. This time around, it would seem that the objective is not to curb freedom of speech, but to protect minors from harmful content and habits.

The evolution of content on the internet and social media from 2007 until now has been drastic. It is not the same as how living creatures evolve, as studied by Darwin, as that is such a slow process.

But it is still a form of control and censorship. So, I’m a bit torn with this decision of wanting to put an age limit on social media use. In general, I am against any form of systematic censorship. I prefer societal censorship where the people choose.

Today, social media is a major mainstream platform for content and news. It is just the same as how newspapers, radio and television were decades ago. It’s how everyone in society gets their information and content.

We never implemented a blanket ban on newspapers, radio and television for minors to protect them. We did, however, put in age restrictions on different types of content that came out on these platforms.

So, a part of me doesn’t agree with the blanket age restriction for social media use because I see taking away access for all those under 16 years of age to their right to information and content. I believe that even minors need to know things.

Danger of social media

But I also see the intention for such a decision. Social media is also very dangerous, specifically with how it can create very unhealthy habits, behaviour and disorders. It’s just how these platforms have been designed to hook onto people’s attention.

Even in our household, my wife and I restrict our children’s social media use. We set age limits on which kind of social media platform they can use, and also monitor and control that usage as best as we can to protect them.

The best would be the social media platforms themselves taking proper responsibility to ensure that it isn’t detrimental. As of now, there is just too much evidence to show that the algorithms and design of these platforms are dangerous.

But that seems to be proving quite a hard battle to win.

Another solution that could work is to have constant engagement with children when it comes to social media and its content. My wife and I do that constantly with our children because we want them to properly understand it.

That’s what we should do in society as well. We need to make sure that the environment is conducive for all kinds of discussion, debate and discourse so that everything can be shared and talked about maturely and in a civil way.

In conclusion, this is a tough decision to make. But I think I am inclined towards the age restriction for now. At least until the time when social media platforms stop designing their algorithms to hijack human psychology. - Mkini

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ZAN AZLEE is a writer, documentary filmmaker, journalist and academic. Visit fatbidin.com to view his work.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.