SOME of the nation’s youngsters have agreed that the danger of using social media has escalated, due to addiction, online predators and inappropriate content.

Sharing their views during this week’s Jamaica Observer Monday Exchange, some of the youths admitted that social media usage has impacted their health and the behaviour of their peers.

Twelve-year-old Samoya Gordon, who attends Friendship Primary School in St Catherine, said there is a serious obsession with the use of devices for social media. This issue, she said, has negatively impacted her sight.

“It has caused addiction, so people would be glued to their screens and they don’t want to do anything else. They don’t want to eat, sleep, and bathe. They continue until their vision is going away and they are not going to be able to see as clearly. That’s why I’m wearing glasses,” she said.

Nine-year-old Ngozi Wright, who attends Jessie Ripoll Primary School, said although her parents control her TikTok and Instagram accounts, she is still bombarded by online predators.

“Before I go to reply to any comments or post any video, I have to ask my parents for permission, but on Instagram there are some people texting me and when I get those messages they are not necessarily clean and I would show my parents. But sometimes, before I even check who sent me a message, I would just block it because I know what kind of things they would try to come with. There are a lot of perverts on social media nowadays and I’m just trying to protect myself,” she shared.

Her brother, Tafari, said since people are using social media more, quality time spent with relatives and friends has become less important.

“The only thing we are on is our devices, playing games and texting. It impacts a lot of behaviour changes. Once you always went outside, and when social media came we have just always been inside on devices. When people get money, they always run to buy iPhones, iPads, and laptops, instead of looking after themselves,” he said.

Meanwhile, 18-year-old St Hugh’s High School sixth form student and National Secondary Students’ Council Region One Assistant Vice-President Dannyelle-Jordan Bailey said she refrained from creating a social media account when she was much younger, as she realised the negative effect the online platforms had on her peers.

“It definitely is getting out of hand, speaking from the perspective of someone who just joined Instagram. When it came to social media, I was always free to make an account, but I saw a lot of what was happening to my peers. They were engaging in communication with people who are not who they say they are or people who are much older,” she said.

“For example, a 14-year-old and a 21-year-old man — very inappropriate conversations between them and those conversations lead to them meeting up and then lead to teenage pregnancy,” said Bailey.

Another poor impact, Bailey mentioned, was children comparing themselves to others.

“Everyone is very quick to post where they are, what they are doing and some may not be as privileged and that might cause self-doubt, self-neglect and self-hate at a very early stage. Parents and guardians need to control what their children are engaging in and regulate what goes in and out of that social media space,” she said.

Kingston College head boy and Jamaica Prefects’ Association National Treasurer Malikai Allwood added, “For my personal accounts, I control who I follow, what I like and what I comment on. You dictate that. I think we should be as socially responsible overall with how we manage our accounts. Be very careful with what you allow yourself to be exposed to and try to fill your space with positivity and content that are informative and will elevate you.”

In a release last month, founder of Hear The Children’s Cry Betty Ann Blaine said her organisation partnered with TikTok to clampdown on inappropriate content featuring the nation’s children.