The other day Friday, April 25, 2025. I noticed a few newspapers (both quality and red tops) covering the same story. It was being claimed that Ofcom had not gone far enough with its child protection legislation. It claimed it was letting big business (particularly social media platforms) off too easily.
I’ve been on YouTube and have found a few videos of news programmes. It would appear that it is a global issue, and it has very little to do with pornography as previously stated, rather it is concerned by the number of child suicides from cyber bullying and targeted content. Virtually every parent who was interviewed blamed the social media platform for not deleting ‘harmful text/comments or deliberate content targeting.’
5 News
60Mins Australia "Is social media killing our children?"
I’m a seventy plus year old male from Bristol, I have lived most of my life without a mobile phone, access to the internet, yet managed to do research without Google or Wikipedia and to do calculations without needing a calculator, because these were not invented until much later. The easiest and most logical way to protect children from online providers is really simple. Disconnect their phones from the internet. It can be done very easily. I know because my phone isn’t connected, my choice.
I have internet access via the broadband in my home, plus I have a separate mobile wi-fi module that gives me a 100 percent secure connection that I can use with either of my laptops or my tablet anywhere in the world. I could also connect my old phone to it, but as I’ve now got a new one, it doesn’t have that capability.
I can remember a programme on tv looking into the suicide of young people, circa 15-25yrs, all of them had been the 'victims' of social media trolls. As far as I can remember very little was done about it after the programme ended. In Australia there was an online 'revenge porn' site, run by some students who posted photos of their former girlfriends, and the former girlfriends of other people who had joined the site solely for that purpose. Once it had been discovered and the operators identified, they were arrested, tried and sent to prison. I believe there was a tv drama created about it.
Quite a few years ago I can remember it was suggested that to to protect children from ‘undesirable’ web sites the computer should be placed in the family room where the parents could keep an eye on what their child was viewing or who they were ‘talking’ to. Great idea except the children would visit the local library to use the computers there, having discovered how to disengage the ‘safe search’ function. However it wasn’t long before the libraries I used got wise to this and set up a bank of computers solely for children.
A few years ago a few parents complained about Channel 4 music. It was alleged that the videos broadcasted were of a sexually explicit or suggestive nature and totally unsuitable for their children to watch. It revealed that the parents had placed their youngish child in front of the tv at about 6 am then selected 4music for them to watch while their mother made breakfast. I had to read it twice before I realised what was going on. Mummy was using the tv as a baby sitting service, from say six to eight am the child would be watching, then it was time for breakfast, followed by going to school, home around four pm. Within about an hour or so the food for the child would be prepared and cooked (microwaved?) and probably eaten by seven-thirty when it would be time for bed. Mummy meanwhile has prep’d her food and put it on to cook. By around nine pm she has eaten and is now on the sofa with her bottle of wine, chilling out. Tomorrow at 6am the whole sad saga begins again. I believe the child was got up early so she would be exhausted when she came home from school and would be ready for bed almost immediately after food. Just as her mother wanted, a quiet, peaceful night without her child disturbing it. As 4music has been removed, I wonder what they are using now?
According to Ofcom the current legislation came about because it was discovered that some thirteen year old children had seen porn, or so they claimed. It has not be revealed what they had seen or where. It is feasible that maybe two or three had seen something, and the remainder also admitted that they too had seen similar, of course it could be that these others said they had to avoid being ridiculed by their peers. If they had lied, it has now got so far out of hand that they are unable to admit it.
On a personal note, since their release I could not understand why anyone would think social media was a good idea. I didn't then and still don't today see the point of it at all. I've had my photo in the local (in Bristol and in Wales) newspapers a few times, my name has appeared numerous times in various other publications as well as the newspapers. I enjoy my anonymity too much.
When I was about seven my parents gave me my first two wheeled bicycle, a B.S.A. Star Rider as my Christmas present. By Boxing Day evening I had learnt to ride it. My father, who had helped me get started, had in fact given me something far greater, my freedom. From then on I was never in, I would cycle to the local parks, to the downs or to the near by coastal towns. Of course I had received the usual warnings of “Don’t talk to strangers. Don’t accept sweets. Don’t go to see puppies or kittens.” Paedophiles were known about but I don’t think they were feared with the same intensity as they are now. Is it because of this perceived threat that children are being kept in? Could this be the reason why social media has become so popular?
I live near the Infant-Primary school I attended when I was five to eleven years old. Back then the school had a low boundary wall with tall railings on three sides. It was possible for the children to look out through these and see people passing by, likewise the people passing by could look in and see the children playing in the yard. Now the railings have wooden fencing attached on the inner side so preventing the children seeing out and the people outside seeing in. Two of the parks I went to had child’s play areas, these too were open, you could see the bottom corners of the parks. Now they’re hidden behind tall hedges and have entry gates. For over a century (the parks opened around 1860) the play area was open, during that time there haven’t been any incidents. So why do we need this drastic measure now? Also what message are we sending to children. That seeing them playing has to be avoided and is something to be done in private. In a way it smacks of the (15c?) phrase “Children should be seen and not heard.” Only now it’s in reverse children should be heard and not seen.
And to think that back in the 1960s we thought we had problems with Mary Whitehouse (1910-2001)….if only we knew what was to come.
Mary Whitehouse
(Wikipedia)Regards,
SJL.
I’ve been on YouTube and have found a few videos of news programmes. It would appear that it is a global issue, and it has very little to do with pornography as previously stated, rather it is concerned by the number of child suicides from cyber bullying and targeted content. Virtually every parent who was interviewed blamed the social media platform for not deleting ‘harmful text/comments or deliberate content targeting.’
5 News
60Mins Australia "Is social media killing our children?"
I have internet access via the broadband in my home, plus I have a separate mobile wi-fi module that gives me a 100 percent secure connection that I can use with either of my laptops or my tablet anywhere in the world. I could also connect my old phone to it, but as I’ve now got a new one, it doesn’t have that capability.
I can remember a programme on tv looking into the suicide of young people, circa 15-25yrs, all of them had been the 'victims' of social media trolls. As far as I can remember very little was done about it after the programme ended. In Australia there was an online 'revenge porn' site, run by some students who posted photos of their former girlfriends, and the former girlfriends of other people who had joined the site solely for that purpose. Once it had been discovered and the operators identified, they were arrested, tried and sent to prison. I believe there was a tv drama created about it.
Quite a few years ago I can remember it was suggested that to to protect children from ‘undesirable’ web sites the computer should be placed in the family room where the parents could keep an eye on what their child was viewing or who they were ‘talking’ to. Great idea except the children would visit the local library to use the computers there, having discovered how to disengage the ‘safe search’ function. However it wasn’t long before the libraries I used got wise to this and set up a bank of computers solely for children.
A few years ago a few parents complained about Channel 4 music. It was alleged that the videos broadcasted were of a sexually explicit or suggestive nature and totally unsuitable for their children to watch. It revealed that the parents had placed their youngish child in front of the tv at about 6 am then selected 4music for them to watch while their mother made breakfast. I had to read it twice before I realised what was going on. Mummy was using the tv as a baby sitting service, from say six to eight am the child would be watching, then it was time for breakfast, followed by going to school, home around four pm. Within about an hour or so the food for the child would be prepared and cooked (microwaved?) and probably eaten by seven-thirty when it would be time for bed. Mummy meanwhile has prep’d her food and put it on to cook. By around nine pm she has eaten and is now on the sofa with her bottle of wine, chilling out. Tomorrow at 6am the whole sad saga begins again. I believe the child was got up early so she would be exhausted when she came home from school and would be ready for bed almost immediately after food. Just as her mother wanted, a quiet, peaceful night without her child disturbing it. As 4music has been removed, I wonder what they are using now?
According to Ofcom the current legislation came about because it was discovered that some thirteen year old children had seen porn, or so they claimed. It has not be revealed what they had seen or where. It is feasible that maybe two or three had seen something, and the remainder also admitted that they too had seen similar, of course it could be that these others said they had to avoid being ridiculed by their peers. If they had lied, it has now got so far out of hand that they are unable to admit it.
On a personal note, since their release I could not understand why anyone would think social media was a good idea. I didn't then and still don't today see the point of it at all. I've had my photo in the local (in Bristol and in Wales) newspapers a few times, my name has appeared numerous times in various other publications as well as the newspapers. I enjoy my anonymity too much.
When I was about seven my parents gave me my first two wheeled bicycle, a B.S.A. Star Rider as my Christmas present. By Boxing Day evening I had learnt to ride it. My father, who had helped me get started, had in fact given me something far greater, my freedom. From then on I was never in, I would cycle to the local parks, to the downs or to the near by coastal towns. Of course I had received the usual warnings of “Don’t talk to strangers. Don’t accept sweets. Don’t go to see puppies or kittens.” Paedophiles were known about but I don’t think they were feared with the same intensity as they are now. Is it because of this perceived threat that children are being kept in? Could this be the reason why social media has become so popular?
I live near the Infant-Primary school I attended when I was five to eleven years old. Back then the school had a low boundary wall with tall railings on three sides. It was possible for the children to look out through these and see people passing by, likewise the people passing by could look in and see the children playing in the yard. Now the railings have wooden fencing attached on the inner side so preventing the children seeing out and the people outside seeing in. Two of the parks I went to had child’s play areas, these too were open, you could see the bottom corners of the parks. Now they’re hidden behind tall hedges and have entry gates. For over a century (the parks opened around 1860) the play area was open, during that time there haven’t been any incidents. So why do we need this drastic measure now? Also what message are we sending to children. That seeing them playing has to be avoided and is something to be done in private. In a way it smacks of the (15c?) phrase “Children should be seen and not heard.” Only now it’s in reverse children should be heard and not seen.
And to think that back in the 1960s we thought we had problems with Mary Whitehouse (1910-2001)….if only we knew what was to come.
(Wikipedia)
SJL.
