Parents need tools for children’s online safety
As we all look at challenges facing our community, there is one issue that demands immediate attention: The online safety of Oklahoma's children both urban and rural is a growing concern that threatens to undermine the fabric of our society.
While today's digital age has brought countless advancements and improvements, specifically helping rural Oklahomans connect like never before, Oklahoma's youth are navigating treacherous waters online.
The dangers our kids face online are real and escalating. Studies have drawn stark connections between social media usage and surging mental health crises among teens. A revealing Gallup poll shows that U.S. teenagers who use social media for more than five hours daily are 60% more likely to suffer from self-esteem issues or entertain suicidal thoughts. In the past eight to nine years, TikTok and YouTube have grown most in popularity among teens ages 13 to 17.
These findings have raised alarms among parents, doctors and lawmakers. While some state governments have taken steps to address children's online safety, it's important that actions are thoughtfully considered so that certain social media platforms don't slip through the cracks and avoid regulation. Also, given the nature of this issue, action on the federal level is imperative since it's challenging to enforce internet regulations that vary from state-to-state.
Congress can empower parents in protecting their children from these virtual hazards. Now is the time for decisive action that transcends politics — an investment into our children's wellbeing by enforcing comprehensive regulations across all online platforms.
There is no need to reinvent the wheel to act on this matter. Commonsense reforms would make a significant impact, easing the pressure on children struggling with mental health problems and negative body image views and reversing this negative pattern of mental health decline. A simple solution is for policies to mandate parental controls in app-stores so that parents can set parameters that are consistent across all app downloads. By setting up regulations at the app-store level, the law would be flexible enough to adapt to the growing and shifting digital environment.
Families in Oklahoma and across our country deserve to have the tools needed to protect their children online. We all need to protect kids from the unseen dangers lurking behind screens.
Monica Collison is executive director of the Oklahoma Rural Association.