Why Do Parents and School Authorities Oppose Social Networking Sites

Why Do Parents and School Authorities Oppose Internet Sites / Social Networking Sites

Internet is used by every class of people belonging to different age groups and occupations so school-going children are no exception. They also access different internet and social networking sites. This is opposed by a lot of guardians and school authorities. Why so? What are the reasons that prompt parents or school authorities to oppose it? They must have their own valid reasons for it.

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Having said, that we can't remain in a state of denial, as we are equally aware of the significance of the internet in making them more knowledgeable. The Internet is not just a tool for entertainment but is very beneficial in studies. It is a virtual library assisting the students enormously in research-related work associated with their curriculum and subjects.  It makes students more creative, helps in sharpening their skills, act as a source of information, improves their communication & reading skills etc. It will be unfair to say, social media/internet sites are unproductive tools for students.

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So shall we consider the option of banning social media sites or preventing students from accessing such internet sites altogether? It's a tricky scenario, it's a catch-22 situation. No clear answer can be given with certainty.

Let's find out more, about why parents have reservations about social media sites being accessed by their sons & daughters. Let's analyze the same by means of this article. We would be extremely grateful if you could drop your comments and share your opinion on this article.

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The parents are partially right if they want their kids to be kept away from social media sites. The kids are very vulnerable and can be hoodwinked into believing things that do not exist in reality. They may get exposed to stuff considered harmful to them. Knowing a stranger may sound exciting, but it can't be construed as entirely safe. Cyberbullying, cyberstalking, cyber crimes and other associated risks are all matters of concern for guardians. It has been observed, the student community in general loves to interact in virtual mediums however, this adds to their unproductive hours and screen time which is again something that is a cause of concern for the guardians.

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When a student gets hooked on to social media sites, he moves away from the real world. It is difficult for students to be prudent and pragmatic if they live in a virtual world most of the time.  He will be devoid of practical life experiences and the challenges that come with them. It can adversely impact his studies which are sure to get the school authorities concerned. By spending the bulk of time in front of the screen, a student invites the potential risk of affecting his physical and mental health. So these are some broad reasons which compel parents to oppose social media sites.

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Now the million dollar question is, is banning social media or internet sites the only solution to protect the students from its hazardous effect? Can't we find an alternative solution? Even if we ban social media sites completely for students where is the guarantee they won't be able to access them using fake IDs? The questions are quite a few however, the answers are perhaps not many or not convincing, especially if the idea is to ban internet sites to address this issue.

The Students also Suffer from Certain Anxieties due to the use of Social Media as Stated below :

1. It has been observed that certain students feel, if they don't respond or like every picture of their fellow students that has been uploaded then they will be left out and it will affect their friendship. This fallacy adds to their anxiety level.

2. When you are flooded with messages, you have to respond and if you don't, it gives you the impression that the sender of the message will be offended so the students are in two minds in such a situation. They end up wasting their time responding to every message they receive, irrespective of the fact whether it is relevant or not to them. This is a baffling situation for most of the students.

3. Another wrong notion that engulfs and influences students the most is, if they don't participate in social media then they won't look cool. They will have a hard time in discussing things in the real world, as they have missed out a lot by not involving themselves in social media chats. This leads to ambiguity in the student community.

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In general, we know that by indulging too much in social media, a student is likely to lose more instead of gaining. The same although cannot be spoken about few students, who know where to draw a line and can show restraints and also make out what is safe and what is not so safe for them in regards to social media. Students get subjected to certain threats like depression, low self-esteem, lack of concentration while studying, sleep deprivation, etc leading to aggressive behavior and mental issues by using social media for long hours at a stretch.

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These are reasons good enough to make the parents worrisome so that's why they are mostly against social media or internet sites. They don't approve of their kids getting too active on social media, as they reckon it can not only affect their physical and mental health but also can act as a medium that can misguide their kids. The parents have their reasons and those are logical to a great degree as well.

After Reading This Article, A lot of People Will Think, How We Tackle This Issue.

The answer revolves around involving the school authorities and parents in order to handle this situation.

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Don't you think parental guidance and proper counseling will offer a better solution that is going to be more realistic? Banning social media sites won't serve any purpose instead there is a great chance that it will make students more curious about social media encouraging them to access it in some way or the other.

Certain other measures can go a long way in addressing this issue. The students must be encouraged to discuss issues related to social media, they must be made aware of the negative impacts, they must know the consequences of not adhering to the prescribed laws of social media, they must be made aware that certain social media sites can be accessed only after attaining a certain age & not before that, the school needs to monitor the use of social media by their students as much as possible and it is advised that parents must know their kid's social media's account ID and password which will help them to monitor things.

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The key is to monitor and regulate social media/ internet sites. Banning such sites or making them inaccessible to students, won't lead to any meaningful solution rather it will compound the problem further.

Conclusion

The students have to strike a balance when it comes to using and accessing internet sites and social media under the supervision of their guardians. At an impressionable age, we need guidance in every step. Social Media offers plenty of benefits and has the potential to create a mess in the life of students if proper rules and protocols of social media are not followed. School authorities and guardians must guide the students so they don't fall into any trap while using the internet or social media sites.

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