Meanwhile
As Korea debates legislation that would keep teens off social media, educators first must focus on building the skills young people need to navigate digital risks.
A student uses a smartphone while leaving a middle school in Seoul in November 2024. A bill to amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act was introduced in the National Assembly that year to restrict the use of smart devices on school premises.
YONHAP
Choi HoonThe author is a professor of psychology at Hallym University.A heated debate over proposed legislation banning teenagers from social media unfolded at the Korean Society for Digital Psychology’s academic conference on Oct. 30 and 31. Supporters expressed concern that excessive social media use could harm adolescents’ mental health and reduce opportunities for face-to-face interaction. Opponents emphasized that social media can provide relationships and emotional support for young people vulnerable to social isolation. They also urged caution against blanket legal restrictions that fail to account for differences in individual circumstances and patterns of use.During the discussion, one professor made a point that had me nodding vigorously in agreement. Comparing social media to alcohol, the professor argued that although drinking has both benefits and drawbacks, society restricts alcohol consumption among minors until they are capable of taking responsibility for themselves. Young people likewise need protection in the social media environment.Perhaps the analogy resonated with me partly because alcohol is something familiar to me. But the comparison also has substance. Alcohol and social media affect us in different ways, yet they share certain characteristics. Some experiments involving social media use have observed declines in performance on self-control tasks, resembling effects associated with alcohol consumption.
But what should protection actually involve? Keeping young people away from potentially harmful environments may be one approach. Yet protection must also mean helping them develop the ability to safeguard themselves when they eventually encounter those environments. The capacity to exercise personal responsibility does not suddenly appear on the day someone reaches adulthood.Even adults struggle to maintain a healthy relationship with social media. We sometimes feel inadequate when comparing ourselves with other people’s posts. We may resolve to stop scrolling, only to find ourselves unable to follow through. Recognizing how social media affects our emotions, regulating our use when necessary and seeking help when difficulties arise are skills that adults themselves need to cultivate.Protecting adolescents, therefore, should involve more than shielding them from immediate risks. It should also prepare them to navigate those risks independently as they grow older. Restrictions may reduce exposure to harmful content, but they cannot, by themselves, teach young people how to make responsible decisions about their digital lives.As we debate whether teenagers should be prohibited from using social media, perhaps we should first consider a more fundamental educational question: In a world where digital environments have become the default setting of everyday life, what abilities should we help children and adolescents develop so they can protect themselves?
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
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