As London Fashion Week rears its pointed toe, most of us in the digital fashion world will have our cameras and phones at the ready in every effort to snap, post and share those most likable instagram pictures. But is our world in squares, along with the other social platforms, a suitable place for our Smalls to play? When, where, how and WHY I’m asked repeatedly – perhaps because my day job – should we allow the underage into our mindless playground?
But it’s not as easy as that. In fact, it’s a debatable topic that none of us are knowledgeable enough to give any proper advice on. Many of us can see the advantage of children understanding how social media works and there is always the argument that – by denying access – you are over hyping it and therefore provoking the naughties to go behind your back… perahps one dark day.
The truth is that a great deal of what’s out there being shared by closed communities (those with privacy settings) is harmless and therefore very dull for the Under 13s (the recommended age). But there are of course those ugly bits. From what I hear, children mostly stumble across these on YouTube and mine have been given this strict advice: if it’s horrid, turn it off immediately and tell an adult.
For better or for worse, my Mini loves Instagram. She loved scrolling through my feed for more than a year before I conceded (read: fought Him) and allowed her to open her own account. With 20 followers and a passion for taking and editing her photos, it all feels pretty harmless. My logic is that when the rest of her peers are allowed access, she’ll behave like a normal social media freak rather than one feeling the need to push boundaries and behave inappropriately. The novelty is here and now.
But, as I said, there’s no right or wrong answer to this debate. It’s highly personal but with a close eye, privacy settings to keep out the baddies and limited screen time, I think she might just survive.
