A Different View with Dave O’Connell

Wistfully wishing that you could turn back the clock to a time before social media, gaming, and instant access to the world at the touch of a button is a bit like putting all your hopes on finding the secret to eternal youth.

But when the kids themselves feel that they spend too much time online and find it hard to disconnect from games and social media apps, perhaps it’s time to at least look at putting the brakes on this fast-speeding phenomenon.

We all know the conundrum here; new technology and social media have opened the world to us like never before. It has provided a platform for opinions – good, bad and downright ludicrous – that takes free speech to new levels.

It allows us to access information on anything in seconds and, once you check its authenticity and verify its provenance, you’ve managed to do in seconds what used to take hours or days to achieve.

There’s also the world of entertainment in your pocket; you can listen to all of your favourite music, download movies, watch live sport; play games on your own or with friends.

Previously, to achieve all this, you needed a fairly big room, packed with massive pieces of equipment – and you had to stay in the room to access any or all of it.

And therein lies the irony; once upon a time, there was an escape from all of this media and technology.

You just had to leave the room.

But now, thanks to your phone, you take it with you everywhere you go. Which is why even kids as young as eight are feeling the effects of this 24/7 social media onslaught.

CyberSafeKids is Ireland’s child online safety charity, providing expert guidance to primary and secondary schools to help children, teachers, and parents to navigate the online world in a safe and responsible way.

Last week, to mark CyberBreak Day on Friday, the charity published details of their survey carried out with over 7,000 primary and secondary school pupils aged from eight to fourteen.

They found that 26 per cent of these teens and pre-teens found it hard to switch off gaming and social media apps. More than half of eight to twelve-year-olds and almost two-thirds of twelve to fourteen-year-olds believe they ‘spend too much time online’.