The Dark Side of the Internet: Why We Must Regulate it for the Safety of Our Young People



On Dec. 27, 2020, a 17-year-old teenager, Zach, slumped over his desk inside his home and died from fentanyl, a schedule II prescription drug, which means it has a high potential for abuse which may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence. Though the medics arrived a short while after his parents called 911, they were too late. Chris and Laura, the boy's parents, had to watch the young soul of their only child leave the world. The death of their son was both shocking and terrifying - how had he gained access to fentanyl? How did he get it into his room? How did it get into his body? 

These questions fueled Chris’ anger, and the answers exacerbated it. The truth is, their son had purchased what he believed was a Percocet pill, a pill for the relief of moderate pain, from someone on Snapchat, an app that we teens know and use daily. Unluckily, Zach received a counterfeit pill made up of fentanyl, which he could not have possibly known. And so we find ourselves asking further questions still - was it really unpredictable that Zach might get a compromised pill made up of fentanyl when purchasing drugs on the online black market? Unfortunately, the possibility is much more likely than we want it to be. 

While the issue of fake, dangerous pills is not new, their accessibility through unregulated social media reveals just how close to our lives this threat is becoming. Teenagers are suffering under the unlimited freedoms afforded by the internet, including the ease of purchasing drugs. 

According to the CDC, from 2019 to 2020, the rate of overdose deaths involving fentanyl and fentanyl analogs increased by over 56 percent. In addition, NPR, a non-profit media organization established by Congress, reveals that “Drug overdose deaths among teens and young adults have nearly doubled since 2019. There's concern that counterfeit pills, laced with fentanyl, sold via social media sites, are partly to blame.” One characteristic of the Internet, unlimited access, is responsible for what happened. 

Young people can easily use the internet and social media through their iPads, phones, and computers. Their access is limitless, constant, and as far as I see it, infinite. We can’t change that, but we can build up a better Internet “community” for them.

When teens don’t understand the depth of danger waiting for them, they can easily fall feet first into the abyss of drugs and tainted pills. Educating them is the first step! Schools should set up courses for different age groups of students, teaching them how to avoid dangers while they are surfing the Internet. 

Creating federal bills to regulate and monitor social media for children’s usage also becomes imperative. In fact, currently, we only have the Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule. COPPA imposes certain requirements on operators of websites or online services directed to children under 13 years of age, and on operators of other websites or online services that have actual knowledge that they are collecting personal information online from a child under 13 years of age. However, one that supports the prevention of online crime and inappropriate access of young kids is missing.

Limiting kids’ access to social media popularly used by adults, and moving kids to apps specific to their ages is badly needed. Meta’s Messenger Kids is a great example. It is a platform for young audiences to communicate with each other as a safer alternative to the Messenger platform, an app developed by Meta to send messages, videos, photos, stickers, and audio to other people. Messenger Kids builds up a safer environment for kids by applying Parents’ oversights and controls, but it still faces problems. Child advocates are concerned that Messenger Kids collect contents of kids’ messages and photos. 

Nevertheless, though Meta’s attempt faces difficulties and concerns, it demonstrates active attempts to counter the dangers faced by our young people making purchases from the internet. But that is not enough - there is still a long way to go from a national to a worldwide extent. The nation must set up laws for it, the school must teach minors the risk of the Internet, and the family must give children the right suggestions and guidance. 

Zach was only one of the victims sacrificed in this horrifying underground battle. His parents were just two representatives of the family members of the victims. How many people are suffering from the spread of toxic drugs through the internet, and how many family members are left crying for them? No one knows the answer, but at least there is a silver lining. With legislation, more concern from the government, and increased conscientiousness about the safety of our young people from individual companies, there will come a day when innocent people like Zach won’t need to be lost, and parents can rest assured.

Works Cited

Bebinger, Martha. “Counterfeit Pills Contribute to the Fentanyl Deaths of Young People.” NPR.org, 14 Nov. 2022, www.npr.org/2022/11/14/1136423429/counterfeit-pills-contribute-to-the-fentanyl-deaths-of-young-people.

Bertorelli, Angela. “California Teen’s Death From Fentanyl Underscores Dangers of Social Media Drug Markets.” Fox News, 20 June 2022, www.foxnews.com/health/ca-teen-death-fentanyl-dangers-social-media-drug.

Boutin, Paul. “A First Look at Facebook Messenger.” Gadgetwise Blog, 11 Aug. 2011, archive.nytimes.com/gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/11/a-first-look-at-facebook-messenger/. Accessed 12 Dec. 2022.

Fentanyl | Opioids | CDC. www.cdc.gov/opioids/basics/fentanyl.html.

Federal Trade Commission. “Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (“COPPA”).” Federal Trade Commission, 25 July 2013, www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/rules/childrens-online-privacy-protection-rule-coppa.

Isaac, Mike, and Natasha Singer. “New Facebook App for Children Ignites Debate among Families.” The New York Times, 4 Dec. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/12/04/technology/facebook-messenger-kids.html.

Moyer, Melinda Wenner. “As Fentanyl Overdoses Rise, How to Keep Loved Ones Safe.” The New York Times, 20 May 2022, www.nytimes.com/2022/05/19/well/live/what-is-fentanyl.html.

Wikipedia contributors. “Messenger (Software).” Wikipedia, 19 Nov. 2022, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messenger_(software).

Wong, Queenie. “Facebook's Messenger Kids Gets Mixed Reviews from Parents in First Year.” , 4 Dec. 2018, https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/facebooks-messenger-kids-gets-mixed-reviews-from-parents-in-first-year/.