The sloganising of public service announcements (PSAs) is a clever marketing campaign dating back to early television and still in use today. It serves a dual purpose: it gets the message out there in as few words as possible, saving on air time; it ensures the message resonates, as catchy phrases tend to do.
The PSA, ‘It’s ten o’clock, do you know where your children are?’ which previously appeared in newspapers, became popular on American television beginning in the late 1960s. It was often read by anchors at the start of what was then the late news and reportedly came about because of concern expressed by citizens of various urban areas over seeing children (including teenagers) out at night. It was a time when protests surrounding civil rights, the Vietnam war, and other tensions made being out attractive, but dangerous for children. The one-liner, used by many TV and radio stations, was preferable to news stories or long-winded explanations on why children should not be out late. It simultaneously reminded and placed the onus on parents regarding their offsprings’ whereabouts.
In current parlance, ‘It’s ten o’clock, do you know where your children are?’ might be deemed a meme, but it is rarely, if ever, used. Given today’s internet connectivity and the gadgets that are ever present in our hands and pockets, it is not difficult for most parents to know exactly where their children are. It often takes no more than the opening of the Google Maps app on the parent’s device, once that link is in place.
The more pertinent question that should arise in these times is, ‘do you know what your children are doing?’ More often than not, parents are clueless. They might be aware that they are at home and online, but the knowledge ends there.
A study published in the US early this month, revealed that in the last year, between 60 and 80 percent of children aged 13 to 17 have gambled at least once and addiction rates among teenagers are climbing. The catalyst is likely online gambling, which is easily accessible, constantly advertised (including being promoted by TikTok and YouTube influencers) and usually conspicuously linked to sports betting. It is all legal and the gambler need not leave the comfort of his/her home. While most betting apps require age verification, children have found ways around this. Nothing new here, their parents and grandparents had very likely used fake IDs to purchase alcohol and cigarettes and enter clubs and bars back in their youth.
However, researchers believe that because the addiction to gambling is behavioural, it is possibly not being addressed with teenagers in the same way they are warned about drinking, drugs and promiscuity. This is an oversight parents ought to correct. Governments are also being asked to treat with gambling addiction among adults and to prevent children from being exposed.
In 2017, noting the “massive, unprecedented growth in commercial gambling… expanding in new, high-risk populations and fuelled globally by ready online access,” the World Health Organisation listed it as a non-substance addiction and public health issue. It urged governments to develop or strengthen prevention and intervention strategies, including treatment in order to mitigate the current and future harm and social costs. Not much has been done to date in this regard. The fact is that many governments earn significant revenue from gambling, which they justify as being used for development projects. Brazil, for example, is said to be the third largest market in the world for online gambling and, in Africa, legal gambling revenue has almost tripled in the past decade. Development, weighed against mental health crises, broken families, homelessness and other harms caused by gambling addiction, comes in at a poor second.
Last month, the UK said it was considering a new levy on online gambling companies to raise £100 million per annum to fund research, prevention and treatment of gambling addiction. Germany, which began regulating online gambling in 2021, has seen a decline as well as more addicts reaching out for assistance.
Typically, when developed countries begin to crackdown on harmful industries, they tend to move to softer targets: developing and underdeveloped countries. We would do well to avoid giving online gambling magnates any fertile ground on which to land and root, provided they haven’t done so already. We should also be proactive in protecting our children from what are essentially predators driven by profits. Some electronic devices have parental control options. These should be used particularly when underaged children are operating them. It would be pointless to wait for the government to act. Online gambling is proliferating, parents should ensure they know exactly what their children are involved in.
