As the world observes Safer Internet Day this February, the conversation has shifted dramatically from merely preaching safety to enforcing protection.
Celebrated annually in over 180 countries, the initiative unites stakeholders to combat cyberbullying, privacy breaches, and the exposure of children to harmful content.
However, the tone of this year’s observance is distinct; across the globe, governments are no longer just asking for safety, they are demanding it through legislation.
While gathering reports on digital trends, a striking global pattern emerged showing that developed nations are moving to ban or strictly limit social media for minors.
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez recently proposed banning social media for children, describing the current digital landscape as a space of addiction, abuse, pornography, and manipulation.
Similarly, Australia has already moved to limit internet access for children under 15, citing the hazardous impact of unregulated social media consumption.
Other nations like Denmark and Italy are also tightening their frameworks, with Italy even considering bans on child influencers under the age of 15.
In Nigeria, the stakes are just as high. With internet penetration largely driven by mobile devices (over 84%), and 79% of traffic originating from phones, Nigerian children have unprecedented access to the web.
Unfortunately, much of this traffic is directed toward social media platforms like TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram, rather than educational resources.
The Nigerian government, through the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has been proactive. Building on the International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) Child Online Protection (COP) initiative, the NCC is localizing guidelines to ensure the digital ecosystem is safe for Nigerian children.
This does not mean the internet itself is the enemy. The web remains the greatest library in human history, and the problem lies not in the technology, but in how it is consumed.
While parents rightly kick against the negative use of social media that affects mental health, the solution lies in redirecting that curiosity toward “smart time” rather than mindless scrolling.
To help achieve this, parents and educators can encourage the use of AI-driven tools designed to boost IQ and aid critical thinking.
There are powerful alternatives to social media and they include:
Microsoft Copilot: A GPT-4 powered assistant that helps children browse the web safely and answer complex questions.
Gemini for Education: Google’s powerful AI assistant, now tailored for schools to help with learning and development.
Claude (claude.ai): An AI assistant excellent for brainstorming ideas, understanding difficult subjects, and coaching students through logic problems.
Perplexity: A “conversational” search engine that allows students to ask questions and get cited, factual answers instantly.
Antimatter: A classroom tool that turns the language of the internet (memes) into a learning mechanic, making education fun and relatable.
Ultimately, our digital space should not be a breeding ground for addiction and abuse; it must be educative, regulated, and formative. As the world clamps down on the dangers of social media, Nigeria must step up to harness the internet for what it truly is: a tool for brilliance, not distraction.
