The Albanese government has announced it will introduce a social media ban for children.
The government has not yet nominated a minimum age but is trialling age-assurance mechanisms for those aged 13–16.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the legislation will be introduced this year.
This follows criticism from a range of experts, who argue it will be difficult to enforce and does not take into account the positive impacts of social media for young people.
Announcing the ban on Tuesday, Albanese highlighted parental concerns about their kids being on social media.
Parents are worried sick about this. We know they’re working without a map – no generation has faced this challenge before.
Which is why my message to Australian parents is we’ve got your back. We’re listening and determined to act to get this right.
So, should parents be worried about social media? We asked five experts.
Three out of five said no.
Here are their detailed responses.
Catherine Page Jeffery: Lecturer in Media and Communications, University of Sydney
No, because worrying doesn’t achieve anything. But that doesn’t mean parents don’t have an important role to play. Social media does present risks, and young people need their parents’ help to manage them.
While online risks have attracted significant attention, parents should remember many young people enjoy using social media and there are many benefits (especially for certain groups). The distinction between the online world and the “real” world is constructed by adults and does not reflect that young people today simply live out parts of their lives online.
Excessive worry about social media typically leads to restrictions and bans. And while this might be appropriate for younger children, for older teens this may cause more harm than good, leading to social exclusion and jeopardising the development of critical online skills and the resilience young people need to safely navigate social media in the future.
Rather than worrying, parents should be involved in their children’s digital lives: talk to them about social media, negotiate media boundaries together and actively help them navigate the risks and benefits of the digital world.
Daniel Angus: Professor of Digital Communication, Queensland University of Technology
Media narratives often amplify fears about social media’s impact. But framing it as something children need blanket protection from is problematic.
The focus should not be on excluding, but on empowering children to use the digital environment for positive opportunities like social connection, entertainment and learning.
Banning social media is a misguided approach that will also prevent children from developing essential online safety skills and digital resilience. It may also drive them to less visible, less regulated spaces, making parental monitoring harder, and exacerbating the potential for harm.
Simplistic narratives found in books like Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation do a lot to fuel parental anxiety but fail to address the nuanced realities of children’s online lives.
Instead of bans, governments could empower families by focussing on structural changes like funding digital literacy programs and high-quality children’s media, providing accessible mental health support, and enacting regulations that force platforms to make necessary reforms to the quality of experiences on their platforms.
Jo Robinson: Professor at Orygen Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne
No, not if we are having open and honest conversations with our young people about what they are doing online. And not if we are equipping them with the skills they need to keep themselves safe online.
But this is a complex issue. It depends on what kids are doing online, which platforms they are using, and who they are communicating with.
Our work in self-harm and suicide prevention suggests there are both harms and benefits associated with using social media to communicate about these topics.
But our research also suggests blanket bans aren’t the answer. In a recent study we asked young people and suicide prevention professionals how the social media industry and policymakers could improve online safety.
There was strong consensus restrictions should apply to some types of self-harm and suicide-related content. There was also strong support for educational programs equipping young people to keep themselves safe.
But young people also told us restrictions will simply drive them into less regulated and more harmful online environments. Bans will also remove a critical avenue for support for many.
Nandi Vijayakumar: Research Fellow, School of Psychology, Deakin University
Yes, but there is very little evidence social media is “rewiring” adolescents’ brains.
Adolescents’ brains respond more strongly to social feedback than children’s or adults’. So teens’ brains may be more sensitive to both positive and negative reactions on social media (comments and “likes”).
One recent study showed high levels of social media use in early adolescence affects the development of brain regions that process emotions. This makes them even more sensitive to social feedback over time and may reinforce behaviours such as constantly checking apps.
Adolescents with higher levels of social media use also engage their brains differently when judging what they look like. This may relate to social media’s emphasis on physical appearance.
Another study found social media use may impact the development of brain regions that support critical thinking, but it only had a weak effect.
These are only initial insights. We need much more research to fully understand how social media affects brain development and if those changes influence mental health, social relationships and academic achievement.
Stephanie Wescott: Lecturer in Humanities and Social Sciences, Monash University
Yes, but solutions will not be found in bans or age restrictions.
Our research found the rise of “manosphere” influencers has influenced boys’ behaviour in schools. Women report increased sexism, misogyny and sexual harassment in schools across the country.
Troublingly, social media algorithms present extremist misogynist content to accounts registered to teenage boys whether they search for it or not. This is potentially dangerous for young men who may be susceptible to manosphere influence.
However, we know the ways young people engage with manosphere content is nuanced, and social media platforms are important spaces for young people’s identity formations and social worlds. Instead of restrictions, we need a committment to education on gender, violence and relationships. We also need to strengthen young people’s digital literacy.
These are more viable responses that will still enable students to use social media, but will also empower them to be critical and discerning.
Judith Ireland is education editor at The Conversation Australia.
Matt Garrow is an editorial web developer at The Conversation Australia.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original here.
Disclosure statements
Catherine Page Jeffery has received funding from the federal government through the Online Safety Grants Program, as well as from the Australian Research Council. She is a board member of Children and Media Australia.
Daniel Angus receives funding from the Australian Research Council. He is an Associate Investigator with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision Making & Society.
Jo Robinson sits on an advisory board for Meta. Orygen has received funding from Meta for the translation of #chatsafe guidelines and resources, which aim to help young people communicate safely online about suicide and self-harm. She has received funding from the Commonwealth Department of Health, the National Health and Medical Research Council and the Australian Research Council. She sits on the board of the International Association for Suicide Prevention.
Nandi Vijayakumar receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council and the Australian Research Council.
Stephanie Wescott receives funding from Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS).
