Ever since Jonathan Haidt’s book The Anxious Generation was released earlier this year, calls for social media bans for young people (up to age 16 is Haidt’s recommendation) have continued to grow.
Kids do way less outside than they used to.
This week, the government announced a plan to enforce social media bans. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he would introduce legislation by the end of the year to create a minimum age to access social media. He’s hoping to work with social media companies (good luck!) and the states (less luck needed, probably) to make it a reality.
However, it is important to note that no social media before 16 is only one of Haidt’s suggestions. Another is “more independence, free play, and responsibility in the real world”. We have reached a point, as a society, where many children have little or no supervision on their devices, and too much when they’re playing outside, where we no longer provide adequate activities for them.
Sadly, I am not sure social media bans will be effective. Yes, the algorithms and the feeds and the dangerous messaging online are horrible for young people and I would prefer not to hear any “brain rot” language in classes or in my home.
But we know all too well that despite porn sites compelling users to confirm they’re over 18, many young people still access them.
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We need to educate young people slowly and carefully in how to use social media responsibly, to be critical thinkers capable of differentiating between what is real online and what is not. This task has become more difficult with the dawn of deep-fake AI-generated content, as Senator David Pocock showed us all last week.
However, if a social media ban is how we deal with the issue as it currently is – much like a lockdown worked to flatten the curve of COVID – then maybe it is worth doing. But what about implementation?
If we’re serious about getting kids off social media, we’d better come up with some alternatives for them to socialise. Social media is, at its heart, social. How are they going to keep in touch with their friends, or make new friends, if there are no DMs to slide into or chat groups to join?