Age restrictions are not uncommon among the Western cultures. There are age restrictions for alcohol, voting, driving, working, and even apps on one’s cell phone.
The question is: Are these age restrictions accurate enough?
As per the IOS App Store, common mobile games like Subway Surfers are for ages 9+. On the other hand, social media apps like Instagram and TikTok are for ages 12+.
Some apps inherently are innocent and do not need age restrictions, but there are definitely apps that must be regulated… perhaps more than they are now.
“I think there should be more age checks or restrictions when downloading an app,” says Pitman High senior, Chris Navarette.
“They’re definitely necessary, but they are so easily bypassed or ignored by parents that it doesn’t really matter,” continued Navarette.
Social media and its benefits vs. disadvantages have been the talk of the town ever since its emergence in the early 2000s.
Considering the potential harmful effects of such apps, is it really OK for the age restrictions for them to be 12+? This means that students in elementary school can possibly have social media.
Something that is infamously known for causing harm is widely available to the kids of America. Is that truly how it should be?
Kids are getting their phones earlier and earlier as opposed to kids in the 2000s who would get their first cellphone well into secondary school.
As such, it is a concern that the apps that are hiring teens and even driving some to suicide are the very apps that kids in elementary are being allowed to install.
Corporations should rethink when it comes to adding age restrictions on their services. It’s a commonly known fact that corporations prioritize money over people’s general well being.
Hence, simply for that, they should be held accountable for their actions and their decisions when it comes to America’s children.
Maybe it is high time that social media and other applications should double check the true and genuine meaning of the age restrictions they have. Especially when it comes to the youth of America.
On the other hand, parents and guardians should also be more wary of the apps and platforms that they allow their children to be on.
If both parents and corporations collaborate, it is not challenging to help adolescents stay off of websites and games that should not be on.