A South Australian-led push to introduce age limits on social media is gaining momentum and will be adopted nationally. Here, we break down what it’s all about and what people have to say about it.
In May, the SA Government announced its intention to help protect young people from the dangers of online platforms like TikTok, Instagram and Facebook.
Fast forward to September, and the state government released a groundbreaking report by Robert French AC, former Chief Justice of the High Court, which looks at:
- Preventing access to social media platforms for under-14s
- Requiring parental consent for 14 and 15-year-olds to use social media platforms
- Making social media companies responsible for blocking children from accessing their platforms
- Setting up a watchdog to keep these companies in line.
This plan has now been endorsed by the Federal Government, and they’ve committed to introducing national legislation informed by the French report before the end of the year.
The SA Government will also introduce a new curriculum into local schools, teaching students about online safety, cyberbullying, body image, mental health and wellbeing.
The Social Media Summit
In October, more than 550 people gathered at the Adelaide Convention Centre at a Social Media Summit that was jointly hosted by the SA and NSW governments.
Among them were parents, educators, students and experts such as psychologists, who came together to chat about the proposed ban.
Here’s what some of those groups said before, during and after the event.
The educator
“It’s developmentally normal for young people to make mistakes, yet they’re making them online where there’s going to be a permanent scar on their digital footprint,” Saint Ignatius College principal Lauren Brooks says.
“More and more, we are seeing educators, counsellors and support staff sitting in these complicated roles acting as cyber detectives and police officers, trying to investigate these online matters that have happened outside of hours that are incredibly complex.”
She says delaying the onset of social media for teenagers would also “give greater capacity” for schools to equip their students to engage in more positive and healthy practices while online.
“For years schools have been pouring time, energy and resources into cyber safety programs and social media literacy… but it has felt like we’ve been swimming against the current. It feels like technology is always one step ahead.”
Earlier in the year, the school introduced the idea of “phone-free Sundays” – an initiative led by the students themselves – where students and staff are encouraged to switch off from social media for 24 hours.
The students
“I feel like it’s really easy just to get stuck in like a doomscroll… where you’re just stuck on (social media) and you don’t realise how much time has passed,” Saint Ignatius Year 11 student Tumbi Kalua says.
Now 17, Tumbi, who started using social media at 14, says delaying its use and providing school-based education will help teenagers “understand what you’re getting yourself into”.
Fellow student Gabrielle Elias agrees, saying social media brings up issues of FOMO, peer pressure and body image, particularly for girls.
“Putting the ban in place really emphasises that… before we’re letting young people go into this new landscape and try and explore and understand themselves, that they’re able to be aware of the risks,” she says.
Want to help your child stay safe online? Read our top tips for cyber safety.
The parents
Wayne Holdsworth’s son Mac was just 16 when his world turned upside down after he was sexually extorted on social media.
“In just 30 minutes, a young woman, who he thought was 18, had shared a nude photo of herself with her face, and he had shared a nude photo of himself with his face,” Mr Holdsworth says.
“And within that same 30 minutes, he was hacked, and the terrorist had access to his address list and proved that, and within 30 minutes, had asked him for $500 and he paid him $500 and that wasn’t enough.
“He called again and said he wanted another $500 and that’s when Mac came to me… but he was never the same again.
“The photos were shared…and he was ashamed. Can you imagine a young boy, leader of a football club, having to go to footy training the next night and knowing that everyone had seen the photo?”
Just a year later, Mac took his own life.
“Our whole family changed that day. I was broken. We were broken.”
Wayne welcomes the push to regulate social media for children across the state – and the nation.
“I simply do not want another parent to go through what I did, because it is soul and heart destroying….I think being able to rely on a law will help parents significantly.”
His thoughts are echoed by Sonya Ryan, whose daughter, Carly, was murdered by an online predator in Port Elliot in 2007.
“It makes me feel really hopeful in the future for our children, and it makes me feel emotional in the sense that we are going to literally prevent children from suffering,” Sonya says.
The psychologist
Flinders University’s Dr Simon Wilksch wants to see the social media minimum age raised to 16 nationally. As the Clinic Director of Advanced Psychology Services and Senior Research Fellow in Psychology, he has focused his research on eating disorders.
“My own research has found increased time on Snapchat and Instagram for 11-14 year-old girls is linked with higher levels of disordered eating behaviours,” he says.
“In my clinic we regularly hear of the unhelpful experiences that young people have on social media – both in contributing to the onset of the eating disorder, as well as making it harder to recover.”
Dr Wilksch has an evidence-based program for schools, Media Smart, to prevent and reduce eating disorder risk and body image concerns.
Are you struggling or do you know someone who is? Help is available:
Beyond Blue: 1300 22 46 36
LifeLine: 13 11 14
Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800
Wayne Holdsworth has set up a sucicide prevention charity, SmackTalk, in his son’s honour.
Sonya Ryan is the founder of the Carly Ryan Foundation, which works to create positive experiences online for children, teens and young adults.
