Imposing age restrictions is like a double-edged sword

All the existing regulations notwithstanding, enforcement of a regimen of age restrictions can pose significant challenges. Imposition of such restrictions on the activities of adolescent children needs to be done in a benign and non-invasive fashion. Once the purpose has been served, withdrawal of the restrictions should be gradual, to ensure that the impact caused is lasting and sustainable.

Abrupt introduction of any new regimen, as well as its sudden withdrawal, can both be dangerous. The idea is that as children enter the youth age, they acquire the ability to appreciate by themselves about what is good for them and what is not.

A legal age limit might instead of discouraging children from using social media, may prove counter-productive, and lead to their accessing them secretively.

Experts advocate that a far better approach is to invest in education and parental guidance, to ensure safe and responsible navigation.

When all has been said and done, there is little gainsaying the fact that the responsibility of ensuring adolescent children are allowed restricted access to social media, rests primarily with parents and, to some extent, with educational institutions.

The role of parents and communities, in guiding and supporting the use of social media by young people, can hardly be overstated. By being active participants in their children’s online world, parents can better understand the challenges and opportunities that social media present. Such involvement can also help to bridge the generational gap in digital literacy and will ensure that parents are equipped to offer relevant and effective guidance. It is also important that social media cooperate in enforcing the restrictions.

The appeal of a ‘forbidden fruit’ stems from a deep-seated human quality of curiosity, and the weakness for the thrill of the taboo. When something is declared ‘off-limits’, the urge to desire it increases, and a psychological phenomenon known as the ‘forbidden fruit effect’ kicks in.

When freedom is restricted, people experience an unpleasant emotional state to escape, in which they tend to engage in forbidden behaviour. What is more, the innate drive to explore the unknown increases their interest. The act of disobeying a rule, and getting away with it, triggers the release of ‘dopamine’, a pleasure chemical in the brain, which reinforces the attraction to forbidden activities.

The issue is somewhat akin to the certification given to movies, such as ‘U’ or ‘A, imposing a restriction on viewership by people below a certain age. Such systems tend to be somewhat subjective and prone to sharp variations across cultures and regions. The age, upon reaching which young people may be allowed to view movies, or websites with certain types of content, as well as the appropriateness of that content, are matters which lend themselves to varying interpretations in different countries, such as, say, India, Japan, or the Caribbean.

The whole issue, therefore, needs to be discussed threadbare across regions and cultures, particularly in a country such as India, before any view is taken. There are also other situations in which age restrictions apply, such as, for instance, entry into gymnasiums or bars. Those are totally justified. After all, who would like to see under aged children getting to be introduced to alcohol or risking the danger of injury in a gym while still not quite ready for such forms of exercise? The context in which the present discussion is taking place, however, is fraught with much more serious implications. Something like a particular culture, region, or generation imposing its value system onto another. Restrictions also run the risk of denying to young people access to perfectly desirable, or even instructive, sources of education or entertainment. It is like permitting them to view objectionable media content involving excessive or indecent depiction of matters relating to sex, violence, or use of narcotic substances.

This discussion on age restrictions reminds me of the sound and wise counsel which l, as an adolescent, received from my father. “Dam your emotions,” he always told me. And, in the long run, I found that, whether it was going to horse races, enjoying a drink or the excitement of foreign travel, all would happen at the appropriate juncture, and in good time, provided one had the discipline and maturity to wait. It is this ability which parents, teachers, and community elders must attempt to encourage youngsters to inculcate.

The discourse has, so far, only been confined to the desirability or otherwise of prescribing age limits for youngsters to access social media. It is, however, necessary to remember that the weakness of the lure of resisting to something which is enticing is hardly confined only to youngsters. This probably was why Oscar Wilde said, “I can resist everything except temptation!”

Taking Wilde’s argument, a little further, and as we come to the end of the discussion on this rather solemn subject, we have him telling us how, when finally temptation triumphs over restraint, one may as well make the most of the opportunity.

While taking a walk one day, Twain passed a fruit cart. All his standing in society, and his great reputation as a writer, philosopher, and humourist, notwithstanding, his basic human instincts surfaced. He picked up an orange and walked away briskly. A few minutes later, he stopped, looked at the fruit thoughtfully, shook his head, apparently overcome by remorse, turned back and walked towards the cart. And what do you think happened next? Typical of Mark Twain, he chose a riper one and ran away!

(The writer was formerly Chief Secretary, Government of Andhra Pradesh)