Internet Censorship as a Modern Way to Protect The Youth

Introduction

Did you know that only 20% of the world has access to a completely uncensored internet? Did you know that a shocking 45% of internet users live in countries where sharing any politically offensive content can result in censorship or worse, jail time? Imagine being sentenced to 12 years in prison merely because you offended someone else whilst expressing yourself. This is what happened to Iranian cartoonist Atena Farghadani after supposedly insulting state officials. Censorship is prevalent in different forms of media, such as books, newspapers, radios, and the internet. When people think of internet censorship, they tend to misunderstand that it only takes place in totalitarian regimes or some third-world countries. However, it is actually closer than a lot of us realize. Even simple things like Google personalizing one's news feed is a subtle form of censorship.

Internet Censorship as a Modern Way to Protect The Youth

Since the internet plays such a huge role in everyone’s lives, internet censorship is surely a topic that will affect almost everyone and should be addressed. Censorship is the prevention of speech, public communication, or other information from being shared or seen because they are considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or “inconvenient.” These acts are usually conducted by the government, private institutions, and corporations. Being oppressive is defined as a circumstance in which people are ruled and governed in a harsh and authoritarian way and are stopped from having opportunities and freedom. I do not agree that censorship is always oppressive. Although there is no denying the fact that it can be oppressive sometimes, as it violates the rights of people, internet censorship has many advantages such as limiting teens and children from accessing any harmful or inappropriate content for their age and can also help to prevent conflict.

The Role of Internet Censorship in Protecting the Younger Audience

Internet censorship can limit many harmful activities, especially to the younger audience. Internet censorship does ban people of varying ages from different content, which can be considered oppressive. However, it ensures that the young ones are kept from learning about information not proper for their age. This harmful information includes access to illicit drugs, sex trafficking, human trafficking, and child pornography. All this information can be accessed with relative ease by those who seek out such things, sometimes, unsuspecting children can come across such content as they can be found all over the internet.

Censorship ensures that these children are not allowed any access until they are deemed mature enough to handle such information. Getting exposed to such information at such a young age leaves a lasting impression on these young minds. Although they may not be able to fully comprehend the situation, it will definitely have an impact on them in the long run. Furthermore, parents do not always have the time to watch over their children and what they do on the internet. Thus, tools that allow internet censorship by the parents including filters or even censorship by the government in general, including movie ratings and a minimum age requirement to create an account, can help this.

Evidence Supporting Internet Censorship for Youth Protection

Numerous studies have proven that teens who are more exposed to content that “glamorizes” inappropriate and harmful activities have a higher chance of exhibiting them. A 2012 study, published in Psychological Science, showed how much the sexually explicit content in movies can affect a teen’s sexual attitude. The study found that the more they were exposed to such inappropriate content in movies, the earlier and likelier they were to have “casual, unprotected sex” (O’Hara, et al., 2012). In another study, it was established that boys and girls who were exposed to sexual content were much more likely to engage in intercourse than those that were non-exposed. Young girls who were exposed were “twice as likely to engage in oral sex and one and a half times more likely to have intercourse” (Brown & L’Engle, 2009). Furthermore, an opinion survey carried out by a professor at Charles Sturt University found that 93% of parents support the mandatory internet filtering to protect children from the negative influence of extreme, violent, and pornographic information (Johnson, 2015).

Conclusion

In conclusion, internet censorship is beneficial for young children and teenagers as it ensures that children and teens who are not mature enough do not get overexposed to any inappropriate or harmful content, lowering the chances of them exhibiting such behavior. While it is important to protect the freedom of expression, the safety and development of the youth should be a priority, and internet censorship can play a crucial role in achieving that balance.

References

Brown, J. D., & L’Engle, K. L. (2009). X-rated: Sexual attitudes and behaviors associated with U.S. early adolescents’ exposure to sexually explicit media. Communication Research, 36(1), 129-151.

Johnson, S. (2015). Parental attitudes toward internet censorship: An Australian study. Charles Sturt University.

O’Hara, R. E., Gibbons, F. X., Gerrard, M., Li, Z., & Sargent, J. D. (2012). Greater exposure to sexual content in popular movies predicts earlier sexual debut and increased sexual risk taking. Psychological Science, 23(9), 984-993.