Kids spending more time online but unaware of terms of social media firms
Children
are left to learn about the internet on their own with parents vainly hoping
that they will benefit from its opportunities while avoiding its pitfalls, a
new study by the Children’s Commissioner for England said on Thursday.
The
study, titled Growing Up Digital, made major recommendations after finding that
the time children spend online is continuing to increase – 3-4 year olds’
online use increased from 6 hours 48 minutes to 8 hours 18 minutes a week over
the last year and 12-15 year olds spend over 20 hours a week online.
Anne
Longfield, Children’s Commissioner for England, said the Internet was not
designed for children.
The
study found that when children use social media they sign up to impenetrable
terms and conditions they could never be expected to understand.
These
harbour hidden clauses which waive their right to privacy and allow the content
they post to be sold.
The
terms and conditions of Instagram, which is used by 56% of 12 to 15 year-olds
and 43% of eight to 11 year-olds, were tested with a group of teenagers.
Younger
ones were unable to read more than half of the 17 pages of text, which run to
5,000 words, and none understood fully what the terms and conditions committed
them to.
The
study recommended every child should study digital citizenship to build online resilience,
learn about rights and responsibilities online, and prepare for digital
lives.
It
recommended that social media companies rewrite their terms and conditions so
that children understand and can make informed decisions about them.
It
also recommended giving children more power to tackle social media companies by
appointing a digital ombudsman to mediate between them over the removal of
content.
Source | Hindustan
Jadhav | 6 January 2017
Regards
Pralhad Jadhav
Senior Manager @ Library
Khaitan & Co
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