Parents Vs Teens: Should Parents Set Limits on A Teen's Social Media and Screen Use?

Catch parents and teens in action, as they discuss, debate and share their perspectives on social media, screen time, and who should have control over their screen use. Let the match begin!

Introducing the teams in this debate:

Team Teens

• Ananya - Chennai
• Arya - Chennai
• Toshani - Delhi
• Vidur - Chennai

Team Parents

• Alpa Tanna - Mumbai
• Krishnamma Raja - Chennai
• Prasad - Hyderabad
• Roopa - Bengaluru

Here are the key excerpts from the debate.

TEAM PARENTS

Roopa: I am a mom of two kids. During this pandemic, our use of gadgets has gone up. Parents are working from home, we're ordering groceries on our phones, and our kids are using gadgets for their education, college admissions, and exams. We don't have a problem with this. But we would like to restrict your use of social media when you're chitchatting with friends or playing online games. Research is showing that too much screen time can cause problems like migraine, eyesight issues and mental health issues. So, anybody in authority should set rules.

Raja: Let me start by using a specific word that is very important for teens—freedom. If there's one thing that teens are looking for, it's freedom. Freedom of choice, freedom to spend their time the way they want to, freedom to decide who they want to become, what they want to buy. But freedom is precisely what they may lose by excessive use of the internet, especially social media. Most internet companies and platforms have artificial intelligence (AI) engines, whose primary intent is to get you hooked on to their platform. So, they're taking away your freedom of time. Then they will influence your choices, change your perspectives, and push their products on you.

Alpa Tanna: I am a mother of two teens. These days, your studies are on the screen and you chitchat with your friends on your mobile phones. We're not stopping you. We're just asking you to restrict your time. Maintain a timetable for using your mobile phones. Being in front of the screen all the time will affect your cognitive development.

Prasad: I am a father of two teens. When you use gadgets excessively, you're disconnected from your family. Being connected with your family is very important, especially when you're in your teens. You need to exchange your thoughts, opinions, concerns, aspirations, etc. Gadgets are unidirectional. They present only one perspective. A good balance between the time you spend with your family and the time you spend on gadgets is needed.

TEAM TEENS

Ananya: Have you heard of the phrase survival mode in online games? This survival mode in games forces the player to stay throughout the game while outwitting other players. This helps us in real life too. It helps us to persevere and go ahead in life. Also, another major reason why teens play online games is because games are an escape from reality, from the pressures of studies and getting good marks. And social media is a source of information for us. It's a platform where we have the freedom of expression and creativity. We're in touch with our peer group and we showcase our talents. I must add that the absence of open communication between parents and teens is driving teens to find happiness in the world of social media and online games.

Vidur: I feel children need to have complete control over their social media use and their screen time. Parents need to have some trust in their children. Also, parents need to sit down and have talks with us, and let us know about the dangers of the internet. A simple explanation from the parents is enough to make a child understand. Generally, what they do is simply say, "You can't do this because it's wrong." I have heard it many times. Instead, if parents sat down and told us why we shouldn't do it, we would understand.

Toshani: When the whole country is becoming digital, how are we supposed to limit our screen time? Yes, of course, we need to look into what we are accessing, but as future citizens, we need to play a role in taking our nation to the next level of digitization. India, as a nation, is striving hard to become a leader in digital technology. So we need to spend more time on it.

Arya: What does limiting and controlling children's social media and screen time exactly mean? You have parents who check the devices of their children. You also have parental control restrictions that can block certain categories of websites, usually those with explicit content. Or parents can physically restrict screen time by taking away the device itself. These seem pretty excessive and impractical to me. Another concern for me is that when parents check their children's social media and try to limit its use, they're breaching their children's privacy.

There you go. We hope you enjoyed the entertaining yet insightful debate. For the complete discussion, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_tJPLFxd6k. We would love to hear your views on the topic. Write to us at editorial@parentcircle.in