The four biggest threats to children today are smart phones, tablets, computers and social media. We’ve been giving parents the same advice for years regarding your children and the foreboding four: Allowing your son or daughter to have an unmonitored internet connection in his or her bedroom is the equivalent of allowing an open sewer line in their bedroom.
It doesn’t matter if the connection is on a computer, smart phone or tablet, the danger is the same. Better yet, smart parents will make sure their children don’t have a personal smart phone or tablet and that any computer work must be done in the family room where parents can monitor the websites visited.
We are sure little Belgium will protest and say her friend North Dakota has an entire bank of computers in her room and everything is fine.
But it’s not.
An unmonitored internet connection is an unlocked door into your child’s mind.
A door you should make sure stays firmly closed.
A dumb phone is all your child needs and you should make certain the kid doesn’t have any social media accounts on the computer they are allowed to use.
Teenage years are hard enough without pouring social media gasoline on the fire.
This advice will only work for parents who are parenting instead of trying to be their child’s best friend.
The best friend parents or the "choices parents" need all the help they can get, because they’re too spineless to ban social media and smart phones.
That’s where Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., is lending a hand.
The Washington Times reports, "Florida will have one of the country’s most restrictive social media bans for minors — if it withstands expected legal challenges — under a bill signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
"The bill will ban social media accounts for children under 14 and require parental permission for 15- and 16-year-olds."
The bill was Florida House Speaker Paul Renner’s top legislative priority.
"A child in their brain development doesn’t have the ability to know that they’re being sucked into these addictive technologies and to see the harm and step away from it, and because of that we have to step in for them."
Renner left out the part about doing the parenting for weak or clueless parents, but that is the case.
Florida now joins Arkansas in requiring parental consent for creating a social media account. Arkansas’ law is being blocked in court by leftists and social media companies who want to keep the kids they’ve worked so hard to hook.
Florida is optimistic about any legal challenges from groomers and groomer cheerleaders.
"Supporters in Florida hope the bill will withstand legal challenges because it would ban social media formats based on addictive features such as notification alerts and autoplay videos, rather than on their content."
Republicans control both houses of the legislature in the Sunshine State, but it was still gratifying to see some Democratic legislators haven’t completely signed on to their party’s degeneracy and cultural collapse agenda.
"The bill overwhelmingly passed both chambers, with some Democrats joining a majority of Republicans who supported the measure."
If legislatures can ban children from smoking cigarettes to protect their lungs, it makes perfect sense for legislatures to ban social media than harms children’s brains while the brain is still developing.
(Related articles may be found here and here.)
Michael Reagan, the eldest son of President Reagan, is a Newsmax TV analyst. A syndicated columnist and author, he chairs The Reagan Legacy Foundation. Michael is an in-demand speaker with Premiere speaker's bureau. Read Michael Reagan's Reports — More Here.
Michael R. Shannon is a commentator, researcher for the League of American Voters, and an award-winning political and advertising consultant with nationwide and international experience. He is author of "Conservative Christian's Guidebook for Living in Secular Times (Now With Added Humor!)" Read Michael Shannon's Reports — More Here.