The Unseen Toll

Once hailed as the great equalizer, the internet has revolutionized access to information, bridged vast distances, and redefined education. But somewhere along the way, this tool of liberation has become a trap—especially for the youngest and most vulnerable among us. Today, educators and parents alike stand at the crossroads of a digital dilemma, grappling with the growing, often invisible, influence of social media and unregulated online exposure on children and teens.

The classroom, once a sanctuary for focused learning and meaningful interactions, is now infiltrated by the ping of notifications, the allure of viral videos, and the subtle tyranny of comparison culture. Teachers report shortened attention spans, reduced retention, and an alarming rise in anxiety among students. While education boards continue to emphasize digital literacy, they often fail to address the deeper psychological rewiring caused by relentless screen exposure and algorithmic manipulation.

For parents, the predicament is even more confounding. Monitoring a child's digital life can feel like policing a city that never sleeps. The line between safeguarding and surveillance is razor-thin. Children, in their formative years, are being subjected to dopamine-driven content cycles, body image distortions, cyberbullying, and a troubling obsession with online validation. The age of innocence is being bartered for screen time.

The irony is glaring. In the name of connection, our children are becoming more isolated. In the name of creativity, they are being primed for consumption. Studies link excessive social media use to rising cases of depression, self-harm, and even suicide among teens. And yet, parents themselves often struggle to model healthy screen behaviour, addicted as they are to the same platforms they warn their children against.

What makes this digital crisis more insidious is its normalization. Unlike alcohol or tobacco, the dangers of social media are cloaked in the everyday—class group chats, school project submissions, even online learning platforms. This blurs the boundaries between educational necessity and addictive indulgence.

A critical reckoning is overdue. Schools must go beyond token digital literacy classes and incorporate structured dialogues around mental health, online boundaries, and real-life coping skills. Governments must hold tech companies accountable for child-safe algorithms. Parents must reclaim their role—not as censors, but as conscious digital mentors. And children must be taught, not just how to navigate the internet, but how to say no to it.

The internet was meant to be a window to the world. Let us not allow it to become the bars of a gilded cage.