Several laws in the United States and around the world have been enacted to protect people from self-harm when they fail to manage themselves while using certain products. Sometimes, harmless objects like online social media can become a lethal weapon of destruction when managed in a careless and malicious manner. The matter needs to be taken seriously as misuse of social media results in a number of teen suicides in the country. Is this a reason enough for enacting social media laws to regulate the age of the kids going online?

Although self regulation is better than intervention of state governments, but sometimes there is need to restrict boundaries and regulate harmful behavior. Gun laws were made to protect people from bringing harm to others and themselves, though the gun culture is still as dangerous. Similarly, laws banning texting while driving were enacted as more people died of distraction from using cell phones than from drunk driving. The presence of these laws and several other reasons – discussed underneath – make a strong argument in favor of enacting laws for social media.

For the love of texting

According to statistics given by Pew Research on “Teens, smartphones and texting”, younger teens, aged 12-17, sent 60 texts per day in 2011, whereas older teens, aged 14-17, sent an average of 100 texts per day in the same year. With restrictions on cell phone package plans, social media and texting have become major source of communication.

Studies have shown that opting for this mode of communication in early adolescence affects the social development of children, while leading to a serious decline in social values, some of which include cyberbullying, cyber crimes, easy access and addiction to pornography, exposure to adulterated information and propaganda and early sex among others.

Necessary restrictions

Teenage is the time when kids begin their learning about complicated social interactions: seeing friends, participating in different sports and extracurricular activities that help in social development of teens’ personalities and such. This is not possible when teenagers can conveniently communicate with their friends and peers through texting.