Should social media be banned?

Many of today's educators were trained under a system that advocates "value-free" education. This makes some education administrators uneasy about opposing activities that might be supported using free expression arguments.

There is, however, no such thing as value-free training. All education carries with it a series of values. It's time we recognised the urgency of teaching young people the ethics that underlie a healthy approach to privacy and civility in public discourse.

This would help them to be more discerning about the limitations of technology as well as its opportunities.

There is a vital role here for community leaders, too. Our culture may be averse to the preaching of morality, but it will often listen to a sensible approach to ethics.

This is especially true when the ethics one espouses are demonstrably helpful to the mental health of young people.

Community groups - including charities, clubs and religious groups - can set up support groups for young people who experience mild depression. Sufferers often turn to social media for support, only to find that it exposes them to dark and stressing material.

Sending senior staff members for approved short courses on identifying and alleviating mild depression, in volunteers or team members for example, would assist early detection.
Designated support groups would also help those who face the misery of online bullying.

Community leaders can also help by modelling a more healthy, well-rounded approach to social media use. Very often, leaders of organisations see social media merely as opportunities to promote an agenda, project or event.

This approach ignores the fact the social media are at their best when used for fostering conversation and the respectful sharing of ideas that add value for others.

Social media represent not just an opportunity to indulge in some free (or at least cheap) marketing. They represent an opportunity to proactively serve the city, for the common good.

Community organisations can become more proactive about engaging the human impact of emerging technologies in general. The health and privacy implications of social media present us with a brilliant opportunity to make a start down that road.