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Summary
By Derm Ryan, Head of YACVic Rural
The Australian Government has introduced legislation into parliament to ban anyone under the age of 16 from accessing social media. This is off the back of growing public concern about some of the risks of being online and the harm algorithms are doing to young people. While exactly what is being proposed and how it will work is not fully known yet, some young people are speaking out about the proposal. As part of elevating the voices of young people in this debate, Project Rockit has released the results of a consultation survey with over 1000 young people’s thoughts on how algorithms impact what they see and interact with.
Shaping our Feeds is a consultation project report, co-designed and co-written with young people. It offers a valuable perspective into current discussions on social media, principally the voices and opinions of young people. The report outlines both the positive and negative impact of social media on young people stating:
“When young people talk about "The Algorithm," they are referring to the complex, data driven systems that influence what they see, hear, and engage with online.”
It’s important to note that the vast majority (89%) of young people who participated in the survey, self-reported a strong existing understanding of social media algorithms, however, many also asked questions like, “how does the algorithm actually work?” This suggests a gap between perceived knowledge and the deeper, technical understanding of these systems as outlined in the report:
“The survey found that 67% of young people had changed their settings or preferences to manage their content, with 34% of them reporting that these changes led to improved content. This highlights that young people are actively seeking greater control over their social media experiences, making proactive choices to shape the content.”
Many young people shared how algorithms have actively shaped their experiences:
- "I learned how to braid my lil [sic] sister’s hair"
- "It has allowed me to have a better understanding of what is happening around me”
- "I met most of my friends on there, it helped with my body image, it helped with my mental health".
The Project Rockit report also explores the often simultaneous positive and negative impacts of social media, stating:
“While a majority valued the role of social media in their lives, they also believed that the experience could be significantly improved. Many participants used the term ‘bed rotting’ to describe getting trapped in endless scrolling through content that doesn’t genuinely interest them. They called for greater variety in their feeds and less exposure to negative content.
Sometimes, engaging with content served by social media algorithms led to negative experiences, including bullying. As one participant shared, “because I watched a video and commented on my thoughts and opinions, I was ridiculed and experienced a period of online bullying.”
Young people spoke extensively about the benefits of being served healthy content bearing joy, culture, new interests and different ways of thinking and gaining new perspectives on socio-political issue. They also reported being served negative content relating to body image, unhealthy comparisons and age-inappropriate material.
A major theme that emerged is the rise of disturbing and discriminatory content, especially hate speech, sexually explicit material, and extreme violence. Some reported seeing content designed to elicit anger, noting, “sometimes you get recommended content created to induce rage in viewers (rage bait).” Others suggested that algorithms may normalise racism, sexism, and abuse, commenting, “you see all this stuff and suddenly it doesn’t shock you.””
It is these negative experiences, increases in bullying and access to adult and inappropriate content that’s led to a growing chorus for greater restrictions and has ultimately inspired the proposed ban that is before the Australian Parliament. These include poor mental health; a rise in online bullying, misogyny at school and sexist content; increasing access of porn by young people, a rise in transphobia; hate speech; child safety; mis and dis-information; and disordered eating and body image.
These are very real concerns, and reform is required. However, a simple ‘blanket ban’ for young people on social media is not the answer. Young people have the right to be online and to also be safe online – these rights are not mutually exclusive and can both exist.
16-year-old, Leo Puglisi, founder of the youth led, Channel 6 News, spoke to Steve Cannane on Radio National Breakfast ABC, saying the ban is unrealistic. He believes that social media is integrated into the lives of many young people and that they will likely find a way to get around any new restrictions.
Leo, who is also a Victorian nominee for 2025 Young Australian of the Year, shared his view that his news broadcast, which is run entirely on social media platforms, would not have been possible if the proposed laws were around six years ago when he commenced the initiative. Leo recently attended an Australian Government joint committee on the issue in Canberra and said, while some consultation has been conducted with children and young people, he fears there is little listening happening.
Speaking on the importance social media can provide for vulnerable and isolated young people, Leo recommends greater education as a better response and is highly sceptical of how the ban would be able to work saying: “Unfortunately, this policy is being developed and defined by people who didn’t grow up with social media”.
What’s being proposed
The federal government has only just released the proposed legislation so we are still waiting to learn how the proposed ban will work and what will be included. So far, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said the legislation will ban social media access for all Australians under the age of 16 years, even if they already have a social media account or have permission from a parent or guardian.
If the legislation passes, the ban won’t come into place for another 12 months. The government has said this is to give social media platforms time to make arrangements to comply with the new restrictions for people under 16 years.
Once more details are released about the ban and how it will work, the YACVic team will provide more detailed analysis as well as an explainer with everything you need to know about the ban and how it will impact you, so watch this space!
The irony that children as young as 10 can be found criminally responsible in a court of law but will not be able to access social media until 16 is not lost on us at YACVic. If the legislation passes, social media will join a long list of things that adults want to protect young people from, rather than educating them about and empowering them to use responsibly. Would it not be better to create stronger safety regulations on the social media platforms (that would benefit all users) and educate and support young people to use social media respectfully and responsibly?
As Victoria’s peak body for young people, we ask that the federal government listen to children and young people themselves – this means both in defining ‘the problem’ and in co-designing solutions. We also urge the government to ensure that any reforms to young people’s access to social media follows the advice of privacy & mental health experts who have been vocal about their concerns around a blanket social media ban.
While YACVic acknowledges online harms and risks associated with social media, this demands a proactive, not reactive, regulatory response that also recognises the many benefits of digital technology for young people.
There are many potential solutions the government could be investing in to increase young people’s safety online, without a blanket ban on all social media, including:
- Increasing and strengthening social media and digital literacy programs for young people and parents/carers.
- Strengthening online safety regulations that place a greater duty of care on tech companies, including preventative and proactive changes to systems to ensure young users' safety – i.e. harmful content.
- Educating young people about how to change their algorithms so they get the content they want and need.
- Co-designing reforms with young people to ensure they are effective and fit-for-purpose.
- Providing support for parents, carers, and guardians on how to approach conversations with young people about social media and online safety.
Finally, as Lucy Thomas, Co-Founder of Project Rockit said in her closing remarks to the Project Rockit report, “The conversation around youth online safety is often dominated by adult agendas – political motivations, commercial interests, and parental fears. These perspectives can drive the discourse, sometimes bypassing the need for evidence and, more importantly, overlooking the voices of young people themselves”.