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A female beauty salon employee is braiding a customer’s hair, while her one-year-old son is continuously crying. In an attempt to calm the child, she gives him a phone. The mother turns on TikTok videos.

“Every time the phone was taken away, the child cried even more intensely,” said Hadijah Mwanje, the executive director of High Sound for Children, who observed the whole incident.

I told the mother, ‘please, that boy shouldn’t be watching what he’s watching,’” Mwanje remembered. The reply came right away and was truthful: “Auntie, it’s true, but I have to work.

That event highlighted a more significant problem.

While speaking to the press on World Children’s Day, which is observed every year on November 20, Mwanje stated that society was not ready for such a high degree of online visibility.

“There is a lot of enthusiasm regarding technology, but many of us were never taught how to handle it,” she stated.

BOUNDARIES, NOT BANSEstablishing limits on smartphone usage isn’t about entirely restricting kids from using technology; it’s about ensuring responsibility.

Mwanje thinks that if every adult fulfilled their responsibility, fewer children would come across damaging material.

She highlights a TikTok profile called Mr Tuk Ug, which employs a child to convey different messages. This issue has also been brought to the attention of the Uganda Communications Commission.

Although many artists think including children increases likes and views, Mwanje questioned, “But what is the price?”

She mentioned that parents need to develop a long-term perspective.

“Will these children be proud of the content posted about them in ten or fifteen years?” Mwanje asked. As discussions about digital footprints become more prominent, the truth is evident. For today’s kids, their online presence is here to stay,” Mwanje stated.

Damon Wamara, the executive director of the Uganda Child Rights Non-Governmental Organisation Network, adds another perspective to the discussion. He stated that completely protecting children from the media is not feasible.

The correct approach involves education and direction, he stated.

“Kids should be taught to distinguish quality content from inferior material,” he stated.

As mobile devices become unavoidable and educational institutions increasingly rely on tablets and digital platforms, parents find themselves in uncharted territory. Guidelines regarding screen time, monitored content, and suitable material for different age groups are now necessary resources, rather than optional choices.

“The problem isn’t about taking kids out of the digital world, but teaching them to select what’s beneficial and step away from what isn’t,” Wamara concluded.

Contact us via email: safetyonline@.co.ug

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