Between the time that I pick up my phone in the morning to the moment that I set it down at night, I am met with hundreds of children on my feed acting as if they are five times their age. Although social media has been a remarkable development for families to keep track of their children, little do they know that they are losing them along the way.
When I was six years old, my main source of entertainment was Barbies and puzzles. Seeing six year olds today, they are not playing with Barbies and puzzles, but rather with expensive Sephora skincare and makeup. It is truly appalling to see children at such a young age getting into adult products and habits, especially when the caption on their account says “parent managed.”
Parents are not blind; they have the ability to monitor their children. However, in today’s world it seems to be the opposite. Children using expensive makeup to go to elementary school provided by their parents seems to be giving them a false sense of maturity. The mindset of using such products is already too old for a child to be experiencing, and the impact of a parent supporting it only escalates the emotion.
Feeling mature at an early stage of life is taking away childhood for many kids around the world. Kids have all the time in their lives to grow up and try new things that make them feel older, and they should cherish their childhood, because unlike growing up, it goes by a lot faster than they may think.
Seeing so many children throw away the opportunity of engaging in activities perfect for their age makes me sad to think that they will not get to experience the special childhood memories that I had when I got involved with those activities. Looking back on my childhood now, I am grateful that I did not have access to social media because it allowed me to grow up at the right pace. Social media has sped the next generation’s development up, leading to the loss of childhood innocence.
So instead of kids reminiscing about playing with Barbies and puzzles when they are older, they will instead be wishing that they acted their age rather than being the same “mature” one their whole lives.
Technology has impacted kids in many different ways, however the effects are starting to become more negative than positive. When I think ahead about the future, I can only come to the conclusion that this rising problem is only going to get worse. As more kids get phones and fancy new “mature” items, the desire for being a kid will become less and less important as the years go by.
