Dear Editor,
I recently came across an important question posed by my friend, veteran journalist Gordon Moseley: “Should regulating social media use by children rest with parents or the government”?
I firmly believe this is a question that deserves far more than a passing response. In my view, it requires a serious national conversation involving parents, educators, policymakers, child advocates, religious organisations, and young people themselves.
The rapid expansion of social media has fundamentally changed childhood as we know it. Today’s children have access to computers, smartphones, tablets, and digital platforms at increasingly younger ages. Many parents struggle to keep pace with emerging technologies and the growing number of social media applications, some of which they may not even know exist.
In countries such as Guyana, where digital literacy and parental monitoring tools are still developing, children are often left exposed to powerful online influences with little or no supervision.
Let us not be naive because social media undoubtedly offers benefits. It can facilitate learning, communication, creativity, and global connectivity. However, it also presents significant risks that cannot be ignored. These include cyberbullying, exposure to harmful and inappropriate content, online grooming, sexual exploitation, misinformation, addictive behaviours, declining mental health, and the growing pressure created by unrealistic social standards promoted by influencers and online personalities.
These concerns are not merely theoretical. Around the world, governments, researchers, educators, and health professionals have increasingly raised alarm about the impact of excessive and unregulated social media use on children and adolescents. Some governments have gone a step further to offer greater protection, the United Kingdom for example has recently moved to strengthen protections for children online, with measures aimed at restricting social media access for younger users. The underlying principle is simple: to give children the opportunity to enjoy their childhood, to be children, free from many of the dangers that exist in unregulated digital spaces.
It is noteworthy for us as a developing country to pay attention when a mature and highly developed society takes legislative action to address a growing threat to children. Developing countries like ours need to pay close and rapt attention. Such actions are not evidence of overreach but rather recognition that governments have a duty and responsibility to protect vulnerable citizens when emerging risks outpace existing safeguards.
Guyana should not wait until we experience the full extent of the social and psychological harms already being reported elsewhere. We have the advantage of learning from the experiences of countries that have travelled this road before us. Acting early places, us in a stronger position to develop balanced policies that protect children while preserving the positive aspects of technology and innovation.
This is not to suggest that government should replace parents responsibilities to their children. Parents remain the first line of responsibility for guiding and protecting their children. However, parents cannot be expected to confront alone an industry driven by sophisticated algorithms, billion-dollar technology companies, and digital ecosystems specifically designed to capture and hold the attention of young users. Effective child protection in the digital age requires a partnership between families, schools, communities, technology companies, and government.
A national conversation should therefore explore several important questions. Should there be minimum age requirements for social media use? Should platforms be required to implement stronger age-verification systems? Should digital literacy and online safety become a mandatory component of school curricula? Should there be legal obligations on social media companies to remove harmful content targeting children? These are legitimate policy questions that deserve careful consideration.
At its core, this discussion is more about the future of our Guyanese children. The young people of today who will become our leaders, professionals, entrepreneurs, and citizens who shape Guyana tomorrow. Protecting their mental health, emotional well-being, and personal safety must remain a national priority.
As our country continues to modernise and embrace the opportunities of the digital era in healthcare, agriculture, government services and more, we must ensure that progress does not come at the expense of our children. The evidence emerging from developed societies should serve as an early warning and an opportunity for proactive action. If other nations have identified genuine dangers and have taken steps to address them, we should not hesitate to examine whether similar protections are appropriate for our own circumstances.
What is a known fact, our children are equally vulnerable to the harms of the digital world? They deserve the same level of concern, protection, and advocacy. The time has come for Guyana to have a mature and informed national conversation on social media regulation for our children. The future well-being of a generation may depend on it.
The time is now for us to act.