Nigerian actress and social advocate Kate Henshaw has issued a strong call to action for parents, urging them to establish firm limits on their children's mobile phone and social media usage. She delivered this message during a recent school lecture in Lagos.
A Plea for Focus and Real Connections
Speaking at the Chrisland Schools End-of-Year Lecture in Opebi, Lagos, Henshaw addressed Senior Secondary School students on the theme 'Appreciating parents’ and teachers’ investments within modern-day distractions.' She highlighted the severe impact that unchecked screen time has on young minds.
"We are living in a digital world. During my time, we didn’t grow up with smartphones and the internet. We had real human connections," Henshaw noted. She expressed concern that today's children are bombarded by screens, which makes it increasingly difficult for them to concentrate on their studies and personal character development.
Learning from Global Measures and Taking Action
The celebrated actress pointed to Australia's recent move to restrict social media access for children under 16 as a timely and relatable policy. She stressed the need for conversations about how digital platforms affect youth, including issues like cyberbullying and the unhealthy pressure to compare themselves with curated online lives.
Henshaw advised Nigerian parents to be proactive. Instead of using devices as an easy distraction for children, they should create structured routines. "Parents need to set boundaries: wake up, do chores, study, rest, and then maybe give them a time frame in the evening to use their devices," she recommended. She observed that some children without phones at home seemed refreshingly unburdened.
The Unreal World of Social Media and a Call to Government
Henshaw warned that the world portrayed on social media is often an illusion, leading young people to second-guess themselves, feel inadequate, or crave unnecessary things. "Parents must be present, otherwise the devices will take over," she emphasised.
Beyond parental responsibility, Henshaw also appealed to the Federal Government of Nigeria to consider adopting formal digital-safety measures to protect the nation's youth.
Mrs. Ayoola Akinyeye, the Director of Schools at Chrisland, explained that Henshaw was invited specifically to help students distinguish between genuine human relationships and online fantasies. She added that the lecture was deliberately timed before the holidays, when students would have greater, often unsupervised, access to their phones.
