The Australian government wants to ban kids under 16 from using social media. They put up an option for people to put in submissions and it was open for only 24 hours. I didn’t have time to do one, however here are my thoughts.
I understand there are issues with social media. There is bullying, however this is not a new issue. Bullying has been around before social media, I was bullied at school and this was in the early 1990s. Yes, it didn’t follow me home by devices. I have also been the victim of cyberbullying as an adult. Banning under 16s from social media is not going to stop cyberbulling. If only that was so… if someone wants to bully someone, they will find a way.
I also know the importance of connection social media can give to teens. My own kids had chronic health issues and would miss months of school. Social media provided them with a connection to their peers from school, as well as connecting them with other kids with their same health conditions. It also connected them to special interests such as Rubix Cube communities.
Through social media, they learned skills such as video creation, that they may not have been interested in otherwise. Sites like YouTube gave them the opportunities to learn and develop their skills.
As with anything else, there needs to be education around social media. One of the things I’ve discovered is that many kids are more savvy around social media than many adults as this is something they have grown up with. There are cyber programs run in schools to teach kids about how to use social media.
I have learned that there is a lot around social media that is good, and there is stuff that is bad. Just like any other aspect of society. The social skills that kids learn need to translate to online, and these are lessons that adults need to learn too.
The government wanting to ban kids under 16 from social media has so many issues it’s not funny. From forgetting the good things to enforcement. I don’t trust the platforms with my phone number, I certainly don’t trust them with identity documents. I’m also pretty sure that kids will find a way around it. After all, platforms already say they are not for those under 13, yet younger kids still open up accounts.
Instead of banning the under 16s from social media, how about doing more to get rid of the trolls and bots. Shutting down accounts that try to clone genuine users, removing explicit content, especially from DMs, that sort of thing. This policy is short sighted and has so many holes in it.
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