Henry Muhumuza

Where I am, the seasons have become unpredictable. November rain last year came late—it arrived in December and was brief. The markers are everywhere. But we also have economic interests. Uganda is trying to derive a much-needed economic boost from its oil reserves in the Albertine Graben. As much as the long-term health of our planet concerns me, the short-term financial promise of oil is certainly more enticing.

Some activists are calling for all extraction to be shut down, but I disagree. The massive polluters—those who've been emitting since the Industrial Revolution and have already reaped the benefits—need to go first. Our share of emissions pales in comparison to theirs. That said, the evidence that climate change is real and happening is undeniable.

NASA Climate Change Evidence →
Royal Society: Basics of Climate Change →

Australia followed through with this early this year, becoming the first country to implement a nationwide ban on social media for children under 16. But is it really necessary? Personally, my phone feels like an extension of myself—a handheld portal to anywhere in the world. I started using social media in 2017 at age 15. Without the technological access I had at an early age, I'd have turned out far less exposed and informed beyond my pretty non-stimulating immediate locale.

I understand that at that age you're vulnerable to influence, and there's nothing algorithms do better than exploit that. Some argue it enables hyper-comparison, creating feelings of inadequacy and depression. But this Oxford academic paper in the Journal of Public Health seems to disagree: "The findings of this study do not support the widely held view that adolescent technology use is a major causal factor in their mental health difficulties."

Maybe the answer isn't banning access entirely, but teaching digital literacy and critical thinking earlier. Shielding kids from the internet won't prepare them for a world that runs on it.

BBC: Australia bans social media for under-16s →
Read the Oxford study →