- Written by Siona McCallum
- technology reporter
image source, Getty Images
In the wake of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, some Jewish parents have been told by their schools to delete social media from their children’s phones.
One of the main concerns is that videos of hostages may be shared and cause distress.
The warning is spreading not only in Israel but also in the US and UK, with some specifically naming TikTok and Instagram.
Videos of civilians being killed were shared online.
Many schools in the capital, Tel Aviv, have been sending messages to parents since last weekend.
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Elsewhere, a school in the US state of New Jersey sent an email to parents encouraging them to encourage their children to delete their social media platforms.
An email sent to the school said: “Local psychologists have contacted us to inform us that the Israeli government is advising parents to immediately remove their children from Instagram and TikTok. received,” it was written.
Another school in New York is encouraging parents to monitor their social media usage and “discuss how to avoid opening these videos and what to do if you encounter such media.” Stated.
Since the attacks began, social media has been flooded with graphic and disturbing images and videos.
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A parent association at a Tel Aviv school said it was told to expect footage of hostages “begging for their lives”.
“We cannot allow our children to see anything like this, and it is difficult, even impossible, to include all this content on social media,” it said in a note to parents. Ta.
David Lange, who runs the Israeli advocacy group Israellycool, told the BBC that his daughter’s school sent out a message in a parents’ Whatsapp group advising parents to delete TikTok from their children’s phones.
Other Jewish organizations have advised parents to monitor their children’s online activities to reduce exposure to violence.
This approach is also used in some schools in the UK. One of the country’s leading Jewish schools told the BBC that social media use was a “difficult and sensitive issue” as students were constantly using it.
Instead of outright bans, they encouraged parents to talk to their kids about the content they were watching.
“We believe this is true at any time, but especially at this time when what they are seeing can be very distressing,” they said in an email.
Earlier, Britain’s technology secretary met with the heads of social media companies Google, Meta, X, TikTok and Snapchat to discuss what steps they are taking to remove illegal content that violates their terms of use. We asked each platform to clarify.
Michelle Donnellan said she had asked the tech giants to provide written details of their plans.
TikTok and Instagram did not immediately respond to the BBC’s requests for comment.