The impact of social media on the well-being and mental health of children has been thoroughly documented for more than a decade.
Research has shown that excessive use of social media by children has led to increases in anxiety, depression, self-harm, and loss of self-esteem. It also exposes children to violence, pornography and cyber bullying.
The issue facing governments and health services around the world is how to make social media safe for children.
Banning or restricting the use of social media by children is one method being looked at by governments.
One of them is the Australian government, which is pushing ahead with legislation that will ban all children under the age of 16 from social media platforms such as Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and X – even with parental consent.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the ban on Nov 7, with legislation to be introduced into the Australian Parliament before the end of the month.
At a press briefing on Nov 7, Albanese said the proposed legislation was to combat the worrying consequences of social media use on Australia’s young people.
“Social media is doing social harm to our young Australians and I am calling time on it,” he said.
Although the bill has support from both sides of the political divide, there are many who question whether a ban will work.
Samantha Schulz, a senior lecturer in sociology of education at the University of Adelaide, told China Daily: “Young people are going to access online worlds regardless of a ban.”
The European Union in 2015 introduced similar legislation which banned children under 16 from accessing any online service without parental permission. After much public criticism, the legislation was changed, giving individual countries the option of whether to adopt the proposal.
In the United Kingdom a similar ban exists, but limiting it to children under 13 years.
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In France, social media platforms are required to restrict access for anyone aged under 15 without parental consent. In the United States, individual states have their own laws regarding social media use by children.
Associate professor Megan Lim, deputy program director for behaviors and health risks at the Burnet Institute, a medical research center in Melbourne, said: “Before committing to a ban, I think we need far more research understanding how it would work and what impacts it would have.”
She told China Daily a ban would be “very difficult, but not impossible”.
“Yes, there would likely be loopholes that some young people could get past, but that doesn’t mean it would not have any impact.”
Australia’s eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant told a parliamentary inquiry in June this year that most social media platforms simply have a box which asks users to say if they are over a certain age and if they have consent.
“If age-based restrictions are imposed, we (eSafety) have concerns that some young people will access social media in secrecy.
“This may mean that they access social media without adequate protections in place and are more likely to use less regulated non-mainstream services that increase their likelihood of exposure to serious risk.”
At the announcement on Nov 7 with Albanese, Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said the proposed legislation will contain “strong privacy protections”, which would be informed by the age assurance trial currently being run by the government.
Social media companies will have 12 months to enforce the age ban under the proposed legislation, once it is passed by Parliament.
Children and parents will not be subjected to penalties if they defy the ban.
In a letter to the Australian government in October, the Australian Child Rights Taskforce – made up of over 100 academics and 20 civil society organizations – called on the government to impose “safety standards” on social media platforms rather than a blanket ban.
READ MORE: Australia seeks pioneering social media ban for under-16 kids
Among the concerns were the effects the ban would have on access and participation for young people, and that for social media platforms it would be a disincentive to having safety features.
One of the signatories was Professor Judith Bessant, from RMIT University in Melbourne. She told Radio New Zealand on Nov 8: “The idea that platforms will self-regulate is ridiculous. It’s in their interest not to.”
