A recent study has stated that most of the children under the age of 13 in India are hooked to YouTube, one of the most trending video-sharing sites on the Internet. I was surprised when I read this.
The statistics are sad and worrying because YouTube requires account holders to be 18, but even a five-year-old can easily sign up with parents’ permission.
The study also reveals that despite these clearly stated and published age restrictions, a large and growing numbers of children between the age of 7 to 13 are using social media networks and access YouTube.
But the most worrying aspect is that they connect to YouTube without their parents’ knowledge and consent.
Often my friends and I discuss whether YouTube or other social media sites are good or bad. But we could never find a satisfying result. We always concluded our discussion with the thought that just like a coin has two faces, these sites also have many advantages as well as disadvantages that a child might not be aware of.
YouTube is a site where videos related to various topics can be watched either for self-entertainment or educational purposes.
On one hand, a child’s studies could be disturbed badly if he concentrated more on this while on the other hand, his studies could become stronger after watching a few educational videos. Fearing their child’s studies, health and other aspects, many parents prohibit children from visiting such sites.
But will a parent stop a child even though the child is using this site as a source of education?
Many young kids have been noticed learning rhymes through YouTube. The bigger ones also enrich their knowledge by watching videos based on various academic topics. Sometimes one can understand a particular concept by watching videos, if he failed to get a grasp of the topic in the school.
Once again I feel unable to come to a conclusion that could satisfy me.
Yet I have realised that it is the duty of parents to check what their child is doing online.
(Published in The Gulf Today on December 26, 2015)
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