By Nawal Haider Butt

Elders are of the perspective that social media is a menace to children and kids are addicted to it. No one goes outside any more. No one talks to each other anymore. No one pays attention to their studies. Kids forget their values and are becoming too western.

Now it’s time for the kid’s perspective.

Social media has given people more instant communication than anything man has created. When we had phones, we could only talk to people we were familiar enough to have the phone number of. Now with Facebook, twitter and instagram it is entirely different.

We can talk to people we have never even met and will never meet. We can communicate with people of different countries and cultures. We can learn so much from these kinds of interactions.

We aren’t just talking with people from our circle. After all, even a poor man can have a social media account as all you need is any type of technology. There is less discrimination.

Social Media is inspiring young people to pursue their dreams. It is giving them more opportunities to explore. It is an amazing platform for people who usually don’t have any opportunities. Social Media also gives people a chance to express themselves in ways that they could not otherwise.

Social Media is raising awareness about things that even schools don’t talk about. Controversies, unbiased opinions on sensitive matters, these are all things you can rarely find in school, and will never find in mainstream media. Social Media is one of the only places where you can actually discuss these things.

Then there are campaigns and causes which you can support which help a lot of people.

“Kids these don’t interact with each other anymore.” Well you are right they don’t. They interact with thousands of people online. They gain information about hundreds of things by just sitting and scrolling through their feed.

Everything has good and bad in it. However its use determines whether it is good or not. Now everyday there are hundreds of accidents that happen on cars. Does this mean cars are bad? No. It means there is fault in whoever is driving them. It is the same with social media.

Elders need to teach their children how to safely use the tool not blame the tool all together. Children also need to see social media as an opportunity to learn not just as time pass.

Published in Young Nation Magazine on December 9, 2017