It’s become the trend all too quickly to say that a ‘block’ on certain age groups using social media is the fix to modern technology’s problem of moderating what people say and do. It’s a simple answer to a broad and complex question.
The restriction of alcohol sales or the prohibition of any sexual activity to those over 16 or 18 isn’t the same thing. This is an issue of information and what it means.
The exposure of explicit material to children is easily corrected by stipulating the same safeguards across all of it in the UK. These such filters and firewalls exist, but legislation has not met their threshold for safety and reliability.
The ease of access of Internet-enabled devices isn’t an issue until a child reaches a certain age, and even then it’s not likely text-based social messaging or posting services will appeal to all of them. It’s an issue of design and not our natures.
