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Appropriate Age for the Use of Social Media

Social media is now an indispensable component of life for billions of people around the globe, who use various platforms to exchange information, connect, and converse. But considerable confusion remains about when children and adolescents should begin engaging with such platforms. I argue that children should wait until they are at least 13 years old to engage with social media due to privacy, mental health concerns, and cognitive development needs.

The privacy should always be of concern when using social media, mainly since many platforms store immense amounts of personal data about their users, such as age, place of residence, and web browsing habits (Kelly et al.). Children may not understand all the possible repercussions of sharing sensitive data online. However, according to COPPA, consent for data collection becomes legally binding at thirteen years old. Therefore, parents and guardians discourage social media until their children are 13 (Royal Society for Public Health). Secondly, social media affects mental health among younger people, particularly adolescents and children. Studies by Livingstone et al. and Hampton et al. have illustrated how too...