ᴛʜᴇ ᴇғғᴇᴄᴛ ᴏғ sᴍᴀʀᴛᴘʜᴏɴᴇ ᴀɴᴅ sᴏᴄɪᴀʟ ᴍᴇᴅɪᴀ ᴜsᴀɢᴇ ᴏɴ ᴋɪᴅs.

‎The world has evolved, including everything that dwells within it. We humans being the apex species as far earth is concerned, we are the tip of the spear driving the world towards the new normal. Our way of thinking and perspective of things are gradually changing, our world of analogue is gradually becoming fully digitalised. Change is constant, it is the reason behind every form of innovation and development but then, every change comes along with it's own effects.
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‎It was said, when the world was operating on analogue, things were kind of slow. I mean having to combine human effort to machine, kind of feels a little bit tiring. In our effort to make living more bearable, automated device were introduced, with capabilities of following inputted commands with zero human effort. The world is filled with lot of these devices going around, the most common among these digital objects, is our smartphones. An object that has become the center of attention and also becoming the closest thing to every human heart, due to the rate we depend on it for performing our day to day activities.

‎When smartphones were first introduced, it's features were limited. It was good enough for our present need at the moment but then human needs is insatiable. As time goes on, the need for additional features arose and humans with the business mindsets and resources took advantage of this needs. Now we have every human roaming the streets with a smartphone in their hands. Since it is no longer just a device to make and receive calls, all kind of activities could be performed on it and also, it has increased our access to specific things, most especially information.
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‎Being aware of the capabilities of this device, especially how addictive it can be for humans without the maturity to navigate smartphone features, it definitely begs the question, are smartphones safe for kids? we are all aware of the kind of things that could be accessed through smartphones by kids, especially inappropriate content roaming the internet and it could also serve as a source of distraction from their studies. But then the manufacturers of these smartphones are also aware of the potential risk of smartphones to kids.

‎Which is why kids version of these smartphones were created. You might wonder what does a child need a smartphone for? we now live in an era when schools now use digital devices to educate children in schools in order to improve the rate of assimilation. Apart from that, it makes it easier for kids to get transitioned into the digital age. We now have examination methods that involves the usage of smartphones or computers to partake. Which means even the educational sector is experiencing digital transition.
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‎So letting kids have access to smartphones created specifically for them is not a problem, the problem is adult allowing kids have access to smart devices created for adults. There is a reason why there is a age specification for smartphones but this fact is not known to most parents. I guess parents should be counseled on the appropriate devices they allow their kids to have access to and schools should also prevent kids from bringing adult devices along with them to school, to prevent influencing other kids. So a kid owning a smartphone is not what I would consider inappropriate.

‎What about kids owning social media accounts? Compared to smartphones that is manufactured based on age differences, social media does not have that luxury. Any kid with access to an adult smart device and Internet could own a social media account. Most social media platforms claim they have some kind of preventive measures that prevents kids from owning an account but it is not that effective. The issue is not really social media accounts but things a kid can have access to by owning a social media account.
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‎There are all kinds of inappropriate and uncensored content on social media that are not meant for kids. Kids having access to social media accounts exposes them to inappropriate content. Kids having access or owning a social media accounts is a no for me because even some adults still struggle with the effects of what they are exposed to on social media.

_{This write-up was inspired by weekly featured content titled Smartphone age in hive learners community.}

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