How familiar do you think Arizona’s children are with the war between Israel and Gaza?
Not with the history. Not with the geopolitical backstory of the Gaza Strip, that 140-square-mile of land squeezed against the sea that has been under blockade by Israel for years. Not with the unending conflict between Israel and the Islamist militant group Hamas.
Not with the cultural, social, religious or ethnic reasons for hostilities that generations of men and women have been unable to break.
Not even with the specifics of the current war, instigated by a vicious attack on civilians by Hamas terrorists.
The internet puts war’s horrors at a child’s fingertips
Not any of that.
How familiar do you think Arizona’s children are with the blood and the guts of the war, with the grotesque images and grotesque propaganda available online?
Before you answer that, answer this:
Have you or any other parents you know locked down or temporarily taken away your children’s devices?
Have you deleted TikTok and Instagram and X (formally Twitter) from their devices?
It might be wise to consider a parental control app
Marc Berkman, CEO of the Organization for Social Media Safety warned in a press release that “Hamas is planting videos on sites like X that show gory and horrific acts of violence, including mass murders and defiled corpses.”
He added, “Terrorist groups often use social media platforms to disseminate hate and extreme violence. Parents around the country are receiving alerts from schools and elected officials over concerns that terrorists plan to disseminate distressing videos, including of hostages, through social media.”
He recommends that, at the very least, parents need to consider investing in a parental control app to monitor activity on youngsters smartphones and tablets.
Social media already is awash with ugliness and misinformation.
The war is closer than you think. A lot closer
Our children are smarter than we are, and the internet, combined with cellphone video, allows anything that happens anywhere to happen everywhere, in real time. Or close to it.
There are some things young people should not see, however. Not only because of the potential harm it does to them, but the dishonor it does to the victims of war, particularly other children.
Berkman’s organization also recommends that parents teach their children about blocking and reporting violent content.
Then again, how many parents know how to do that?
And how many curious children, being children, would be able to resist clicking on a link with images of war – the real thing, not a video game?
We live in a state where grown-ups can luxuriate in the weather, argue over local politics, hyperventilate over the Diamondbacks’ chances to make it to the World Series, binge watch “Stranger Things” or “Black Mirror” or “Bridgerton,” and puzzle over where to order from on Door Dash or Uber Eats.
The war in Gaza, which we check in on now and then, seems very far away.
When in fact it’s right here, in our children’s hands.
Reach Montini at [email protected]
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