The case of a 15-year-old male student using a weapon to attack 5 students of the same school in Ho Chi Minh City is a warning to the social community.
According to initial information, the male student had accessed negative content from a group on a foreign social network platform.
It is not possible to hastily attribute social networks to being the sole cause of a violent act, but it is not possible to underestimate the possibility that harmful content, which is repeatedly exposed, can affect the awareness, emotions and behavior of an immature person.
Content inciting violence appears, shocking images, extremist words, dangerous "challenges" if continuously received can distort children's views on right and wrong, on the value of life and responsibility to others.
If there is no orientation, a virtual world with distorted standards may gradually become a cognitive world for children.
Violent behavior in adolescents is often the result of many factors, including the impact of the online environment.
Therefore, digital skills education, skills to recognize fake news, incitement content, fraud and dangerous behavior must become a practical part of every family and school.
But it is not possible to push the entire responsibility of protecting children onto parents and schools, social media platforms must also be responsible for the environment they create.
The platform cannot just say that it provides tools, and the user is responsible. When the algorithm proposes to bring violent, inciting, and dangerous content to children, the system must have a mechanism to identify, limit distribution, and handle it promptly.
Groups promoting dangerous behaviors, seducing children or spreading illegal content must be detected, prevented and coordinated for handling.
It is necessary to require platforms to strictly implement Vietnamese legal regulations on protecting children in cyberspace; strengthen age control tools, protect personal data, and have fast reporting and response mechanisms for dangerous content.
Acts of inciting violence, infringing on honor, spreading harmful content or seducing children into dangerous activities need to be detected and handled according to the law.
Platforms must also be responsible for protecting young users, not allowing the benefits of interaction to overwhelm the safety of children.
Saving our children from the harmful encirclement on social networks is not about taking away the phone, but to help them have enough awareness not to be led by the phone.
Don't wait until a dangerous behavior occurs to care about what your children are watching, start today, with care, dialogue and responsibility.
