We’re talking! digital citizens of course! about one’s own device! because access to a parent’s device begins much! much earlier. It’s an open door to digital content and applications of all kinds.
Social networks! increasingly sooner
Among them digital citizens are social networking apps: connecting to them is a phone number list common practice among young people. In fact! 40% of Spanish children between the ages of nine and 13 have their own profile on at least one social network! according to the report ” Internet Risks and Safety: Spanish Minors in the European Context ” prepared by EU Kids Online.
A precocity that other studies place at even earlier ages. The report ” Minors and the Internet: The Unfinished Business for Spanish Parents !” prepared by the security platform Qustodio! reveals that 4% of Spanish children between the ages of five and eight use Instagram! a percentage that rises to 49% among those aged 12 to 14.
And this despite the fact that Instagram has recently emerged with a powerful keys to understanding the rise of the technology sector in china competitor: the fourth most downloaded mobile app in Spain in 2019 (behind only WhatsApp! Facebook Messenger! and Instagram) was TikTok! a social network populated primarily by children and adolescents that has more than 800 million users worldwide. Just walk into a primary school playground to see its popularity.
Age limits on social networks
All this! despite the fact that! in theory! the minimum age to open a profile on a social network is 13: that’s the age set by Twitter! TikTok! and Snapchat! the most lax in this regard. Facebook and Instagram set it at 14! and WhatsApp made headlines in August 2019 for raising the minimum age to 16. European and national legislation and the restrictions they impose on the processing of personal data of minors are in the balance.
But the reality is that lying about your age to open a social media profile is clean email incredibly easy: no proof of date of birth is required. And the greater the number of users! the greater the potential for advertising revenue for social platforms! which reduces the incentive for enforcement… Unless! of course! the fines start rolling in: in March 2019! the US Federal Trade Commission fined TikTok $5.7 million for collecting information on children under 13. This was the largest FTC fine for privacy issues to date.
Privacy versus popularity
Privacy! or rather the need to protect it! is just one of the dangers facing children on social media: in an environment and at an age where people actively seek out social interaction! notoriety! popularity! feeling part of a group! acceptance from others! and social recognition as a means of self-affirmation! there is a risk of prioritizing likes over personal exposure. In most cases! this is unconsciously! due to a lack of awareness of the consequences! or simply due to ignorance: 55% of Spanish children don’t know how to change the privacy settings on their social media profiles! and 9% post information such as their phone number or home address on them! according to the EU Kids Online report.