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In December 2024, the Australian Government passed the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024 which aims to ban anyone under the age of 16 from accessing social media.
While YACVic supports digital and social media reforms to combat online harms and misinformation, a ‘blanket ban’ for young people on social media is not the solution.
We live in an increasingly digitised world, and social media is an important 'third space' for young people. It’s a place where young people connect, share their experiences, learn new skills, express creativity and self-expression, form communities, and offer and seek support.1 For many young people, social media is also where they access the news and current information about the world around them, as well as being a crucial space for collective advocacy.1
Access to social media and the social connection it provides can be a strong protective factor for all young people, but especially marginalised young people including LGBTQIA+ young people, disabled young people, and young people living in rural and regional areas.2,3 These positive impacts include social connectedness, reduced loneliness, increased self-determination, education and independence, enhanced feelings of control in their lives, and increased emotional support.4
Young people have the right to be online and to also be safe online. This ban is off the back of growing public concern about some of the risks of being online and harmful algorithms – such as: a rise in poor mental health; cyberbullying; increased access to porn; misogyny at school and sexist content; transphobia; hate speech; mis and dis-information; and disordered eating and body image. These issues need addressing and it’s clear significant reform is required. However, a blanket ban of social media is not a comprehensive or nuanced approach.
Here’s some of our concerns
- Digital technology and social media is integrated into all our lives, and is constantly evolving. It’s unlikely a blanket ban will prevent young people from engaging with new social media platforms and could risk exposing them to new unregulated and unsafe environments.
- Due to technological work arounds such as VPNs, and the lack of proven successful age assurance processes, young people will likely find ways to access social media platforms despite the ban. If the ban isn’t paired with comprehensive regulatory reform to improve safety, a ban may reduce motivation for social media companies to make their platforms safer.
- Given the lack of detail on how age assurance technology and processes will be used to implement this ban, the potential requirement for all Australians to prove their identity and age to access social media raises serious concerns about privacy. This concern has been raised by over 140 experts in a joint statement coordinated by the Australian Child Rights Taskforce and digital safety and rights organisation, Reset Tech.6
- Studies show the causal link between social media and poor mental health is unclear and that social media cannot be considered the sole or key driver of poor mental health among young people.5 There is currently no evidence to suggest a social media ban will improve mental health. Rather, it risks further isolating marginalised groups, meaning they miss out on critical social connections and support. The narrative of blaming social media for poor mental health detracts from many other underlying factors impacting young people right now – such as the cost of living and housing crisis, climate change, poverty, family violence, and increasing uncertainty about the future.
- Removing young people from social media without thorough, meaningful, and evidence-based consultation risks many unintended consequences, and goes against International Human Rights obligations requiring meaningful participation of young people.
What are we asking for?
Young people are the experts of their own lives, but their voices have largely been missing from this vital conversation about online safety. The way young people connect with friends and access information has fundamentally shifted through social media – and we must adapt with it.
Young people are much more likely to report and experience the benefits of social media and the online world,7 and it’s clear there’s no ‘one size fits all’ approach. We need to minimise online harms and amplify the benefits that social media has to offer. We recommend:
Impose Online Duty of Care regulations for online platforms
including preventative and proactive changes to systems to ensure young people’s safety online – such as preventing harmful content, misinformation and infinite scrolling. Young people must be consulted in identifying and defining categories of harm applicable to Online Duty of Care regulations.
Co-design reforms with young people
with diverse lived experience to ensure they are effective and fit-for-purpose – this means both in defining ‘the problem’ and in co-designing effective solutions.
Ensure social media reforms follow the advice
of privacy and mental health experts.
Co-design education programs and resources
for young people, parents/carers, and educators to ensure young people are supported and confident to engage with online spaces safely. Ensure young people also know where to go for support when an online harm is identified.
Increase support for parents, and carers/guardians
on how to approach conversations with young people about social media and online safety. With 95% of Australian caregivers citing online safety as “one of their toughest parenting challenges”, it’s clear more support is needed.8
Address the underlying and systemic causes of rising poor mental health among young people
for example increased funding for place-based mental health supports; youth-led mental health promotion; cost of living support including raising the rate of Youth Allowance and Job Seeker; measures to address housing affordability and homelessness; and youth-led solutions to combat rising fears about the future.
We invite Government and policy makers to work with key youth organisations and young people to ensure the voices of young people are heard on issues and solutions which impact them, and to develop evidence-based solutions to ensure young people are safe online.
References
- Prevention United. Policy Brief: The impact of screen time and social media on the mental health of young Australians [Internet]. 2024 May [cited 2024 Nov 20]. Available from: https://nest.greenant.net/s/QiR56KZpQzMPPBn
- Ryan T, Allen KA, Gray DL, McInerney DM. How Social Are Social Media? A Review of Online Social Behaviour and Connectedness. J Relatsh Res. 2017 Jan;8:e8.
- Karim S, Choukas-Bradley S, Radovic A, Roberts SR, Maheux AJ, Escobar-Viera CG. Support over Social Media among Socially Isolated Sexual and Gender Minority Youth in Rural U.S. during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Opportunities for Intervention Research. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Nov 24;19(23):15611.
- Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Prevalence and impact of mental illness - Mental health [Internet]. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. 2024 [cited 2024 Nov 20]. Available from: https://www.aihw.gov.au/mental-health/overview/prevalence-and-impact-of-mental-illness
- Valkenburg PM, Meier A, Beyens I. Social media use and its impact on adolescent mental health: An umbrella review of the evidence. Curr Opin Psychol. 2022 Apr;44:58–68.
- Taskforce ACR. Open letter regarding proposed social media bans for children. 2024 Oct 8 [cited 2024 Nov 27]; Available from: https://apo.org.au/node/328608
- Duffy PB, Lawson DG, May G, Pollitt A, Brown V, Cram M, et al. Youth mental health crisis? Public and generational attitudes in the UK and Australia [Internet]. Orygen, The Policy Institute and King’s College London; 2024 Feb [cited 2024 Nov 20]. Available from: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/policy-institute/assets/youth-mental-health-in-crisis.pdf
- Parliamentary Debates, Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024, Second Reading Speech [Internet]. Handsard; 2024 [cited 2024 Nov 27]. Available from: https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/genpdf/chamber/hansardr/28041/0017/hansard_frag.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf