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    'Want our children back!' Why Kate Winslet, Elon Musk & Anand Mahindra don't want kids using smartphones

    Mahindra Elon Musk Kate
    Parents constantly fear for their children's safety on social media. So when Hollywood actress Kate Winslet used her winning moment at the BAFTA Television Awards in London on Sunday to call for action against harmful content on social media, it hit home for many parents.

    Story outline

    • Internet is surely a land of opportunity and creativity but it is also a land of cyberbullying, online harassment and abuse
    • Parents of teen or young kids want nothing more than to protect their children and make sure they aren't harmed online
    • So when Winslet spoke against social media and its dangers, it resonated with many parents
    • In the past, business leaders such as Elon Musk and Anand Mahindra have also made similar calls
    Several studies through the years have shown the harmful effects of social media on teens. While the Internet is full of opportunity and greatness, there's also a dark side to it which pushes kids, teens and young adults to constantly compare themselves to others, become targets of cyberbullying, abuse and online harassment.

    Parents constantly fear for their children's safety on social media. So when Hollywood actress Kate Winslet used her winning moment at the BAFTA Television Awards in London on Sunday to call for action against harmful content on social media, it hit home for many parents.

    The actress was accepting Leading Actress award at the BAFTA for her portrayal of a mother of a teenager consumed by social media in ‘I am Ruth’, a mini-series which also starred her real-life daughter, Mia Threapleton.

    Winslet’s BAFTA speech resonates with parents across the world as they continue to stay on their toes over their children’s protection on social media and its dark side.

    “We want our children back!” the 47-year-old actress cried on stage, a sentiment that was echoed in the audience as well.

    Many studies have shown that young adults who are often on social media are three times likely to suffer from depression. As per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number females who died by suicide between the ages of 15-24 has increased by 87 per cent in the last 20 years, the number of males between the ages of 15 and 14 who took their own lives rose by 30 per cent.

    "For young people who have become addicted to social media and its darker sides: this does not need to be your life. To people in power and to people who can make change: please, criminalise harmful content. Please eradicate harmful content. We don't want it. We want our children back," the actress said.
    "'I Am Ruth' was made... for families who feel that they are held hostage by the perils of the online world, for parents who wish they could still communicate with their teenagers but who no longer can," Winslet said.

    The 'Titanic' star isn't the only global celebrity who has taken a stand against children being on social media and called for restrictions, Twitter CEO Elon Musk has also spoken over the issue multiple times in the past.

    Just a few months ago, Musk, who himself is quite the star on Twitter, had opened up about making a mistake by never restricting his children from being on social media.

    "I have not tried to restrict social media for my kids, which might have been a mistake." They have been programmed by Reddit and YouTube. I would limit social media a bit more than in the past... watch what they are watching," the 51-year-old had said at the World Government Summit in Dubai earlier this year.

    Also read: 'Stop giving smartphones to your kids!' Manu Kumar Jain, former CEO of Xiaomi India, urges parents to practice caution

    Just like the biggies of the West, another billionaire back home who shared similar views but on children and their access to smartphones, is Anand Mahindra.

    Recently, the chairman of Mahindra and Mahindra educated his followers on the harmful effects of children staying glued to smartphones. The Indian businessman shared a study on mental health of young adults depending on the age they first started using smartphones.

    “Incredibly disturbing. Research being conducted by Sapien Labs and Krea University, AP, shows that the age at which a child first owns a smartphone affects their mental well-being in adulthood. I join many others in urging parents to exercise caution & restraint,” Mahindra tweeted.
    Studies have shown that owning a smartphone at an early age leads to lower self-worth, more sadness, anxiety, less motivation and resilience. Several law-makers in different countries are pushing for new and stricter laws for age verification that will prevent underage users from accessing social media platforms.
    ( Originally published on May 18, 2023 )

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