GREAT BAY--Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport Melissa Gumbs has questioned whether an outright social media ban for children under the age of 15 would achieve its intended purpose, arguing that greater awareness, education and responsible use may offer a more practical way of addressing the growing influence of social media on young people.
Gumbs addressed the issue during her weekly MECYS Update following a conversation about whether St. Maarten should consider restrictions similar to those introduced or being explored in larger countries, including Australia.
The Minister made clear that she was expressing her personal and semi-professional view on the issue rather than announcing a new government policy.
Gumbs said that while restricting access to social media may appear attractive in theory, she is not convinced that an outright ban would significantly change the problems increasingly associated with social media use.
She argued that awareness is becoming one of the more important tools available to address the negative effects of social media and other forms of digital influence, particularly because those effects are not limited to children.
Gumbs stressed that adults can also develop unhealthy relationships with social media and said efforts to guide children must include adults examining their own online behavior and screen time.
She said adults cannot reasonably expect children to develop healthier digital habits if the adults around them struggle to limit their own use of social media, artificial intelligence and other digital platforms.
The Minister traced some of the evolution of social media, recalling its earlier years when platforms such as MySpace, Hi5, Friendster and Yahoo Groups were largely used for communication, social interaction and exploration.
She pointed to Facebook as an important turning point in the development of social media, particularly as online platforms became increasingly valuable for gathering information about users and understanding consumer behavior.
Drawing on her background in marketing, Gumbs contrasted the current digital environment with traditional market research, where companies once relied heavily on focus groups to determine how consumers responded to products, branding and advertising.
Social media, she said, created an environment in which millions of people continuously and willingly shared their opinions, interests and preferences online, changing the way businesses could understand and reach consumers.
Gumbs also discussed the emergence of influencer culture, particularly through YouTube, where product reviews, gaming content, cosmetics and other forms of online content increasingly began shaping consumer decisions.
She said the development became more concerning as children themselves increasingly became part of the online commercial environment, including through channels centered on children reviewing toys for other children.
The Minister also pointed to the COVID-19 period as another factor that changed people's relationship with screens and digital platforms, with extended periods spent online contributing to habits that remain evident today.
She said another challenge is the growing number of young people who now identify becoming an influencer as a career ambition without necessarily understanding the amount of work, skill and discipline required to consistently produce content.
Rather than dismissing those ambitions, Gumbs said young people should be encouraged to understand what successful content creation actually involves. She pointed to local content creators as examples of individuals who invest significant time and effort into their work, noting that while digital tools have advanced, content creation still requires fundamental skills.
Her broader position, she explained, is that society can either attempt to fight developments in technology and social media or meet young people within the reality in which they are already living.
Gumbs said the focus should therefore be on increasing awareness of the risks associated with early and excessive exposure to social media, including its potential influence on how children, young adults and adults perceive themselves and the world around them.
She also cautioned against assuming that prohibition alone would prevent young people from finding ways to access social media. The Minister pointed to experiences in schools where young people have found ways around technological restrictions, reinforcing her view that restrictions must be accompanied by education and awareness.
Rather than relying primarily on an outright ban, Gumbs said greater attention should be placed on risk management, digital awareness and helping young people understand both the benefits and dangers of the online environment.
She also emphasized the importance of adults leading by example as social media, artificial intelligence and other digital technologies become an increasingly common part of everyday life.
Gaming can also have developmental value
Gumbs also used her MECYS Update to clarify previous comments she made about gaming and children's development, saying she does not view all screen-based activity in the same way.
The Minister distinguished between basic games that involve little more than matching images or repeatedly touching a screen and games that require children to use controllers, solve problems and coordinate different movements.
She recalled growing up with gaming systems such as Nintendo and Super Nintendo and said controller-based gaming can require coordination between the brain, eyes, hands and fingers.
Gumbs said she believes certain types of gaming can help young people develop skills such as hand-eye coordination, reflexes and aspects of motor control.
She also suggested that puzzle-based games can encourage children to make connections and work through problems while becoming more comfortable with technology.
Her comments were not an argument for children spending unlimited amounts of time gaming. Gumbs instead placed gaming within her broader position that adults should understand the technology children are already using and guide them toward healthier and more constructive ways of engaging with it.
She stressed that children must also have opportunities for physical play and outdoor activity, saying play remains an important part of their development.
Gumbs said her approach is ultimately to meet young people where they are, rather than treating technology itself as the problem, while ensuring that children are exposed to responsible use, healthy limits and opportunities to develop both digitally and physically.
