Australia’s new attempt to combat social media overexposure
Following the South Australian government’s recent announcement to ban social media for teenagers under 14, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is moving forward with legislation to “enforce a minimum age for access to social media and other relevant digital platforms.” (The Daily Aus, 2024)
This will be federally mandated in order to avoid inconsistencies across state legislative authorities and is a response to concerns with how young people are exposed to the internet. The rise in extremist movements, gaming addiction issues, link to declining mental health are targeted in this one policy response. while something is better than nothing, concerns that a blanket ban cannot adequately address this multifaceted issue have been at the forefront of public discourse.
Analysis
A ban, at surface level, is a positive direction. A way to redirect children from devices to outside spaces. Implementation isn’t a quick and easy fix however. Speaking to ABC News Breakfast, Albanese confirmed “deliver[y]” (Long, 2024) is the most pressing aspect of the legislation to formulate. While the South Australian government has proposed “fines” (Long, 2024) for social media companies that do not ban children under 13 from accessing a social media account, Albanese is advocating something larger, trials for “age verification technology” to effectively keep all young people off social media. (Long, 2024) Because this is an ongoing process, media outlets are grappling with limited information when discussing the fully - proposed model, as even a specific “cut-off age” is unknown.
Therefore, while these trials, described as “methods to verify the age of people accessing social networks” (Long, 2024) have been in their interim, criticism has been stark. Predominantly, concerns on how identity or age will be proven in a “world of deepfakes and disinformation.” (Long, 2024)
Social Implications
Daniel Argus, director of the digital media research centre at Queensland University of Technology argues that the ban “threatens to create serious harm by excluding young people from meaningful, healthy participation in the digital world” (Oxford, 2024).In today’s world, Digital immersion and literacy integration into young people’s lives is important. It is an aspect of socialisation that they engage with, so a total ban will strip away opportunities many kids latch onto for connection with their peers and friends.
While Albanese’s sentiment that he wants “kids off their phones and on the footy field” (Long, 2024) is a shared lived experience for many Australian parents, the reality is much more complex. Kids, and the parents or guardians raising them are often navigating a balance between maintaining traditionally healthy lifestyles and being tech savvy. As young people prepare for an increasingly tech-reliant work-force, social media literacy plays an essential role in their future opportunities.Thus, the onus cannot solely rest on the busy parents nor naive students; rather, shouldn’t intervention be propelled by the social media companies themselves?
“Instagram’s rearguard bid” (Lewis, 2024) recently enacted a policy to change the settings of all teenagers’ accounts from public to private. An action that will not remove all negative consequences of engaging with the internet but certainly reduces the potential platforms in which information is exchanged with strangers. Aiding young people calls for companies to play more responsibly and actively mitigate the harms of over-exposure to social media, but can companies do enough when it takes two seconds for users to lie about their age when setting up their account? How much responsibility do social media apps have?
Political Implications
This policy was backed by significant public support, with a YouGov survey reporting “61 percent of Australians polled supported restricting access to social media platforms to those younger than the age of 17.” (Oxford, 2024) It was also on the policy agenda of both major party leaders, Opposition leader Peter Dutton supporting “a social media ban for those under 16 years old” if elected in 2025. (Oxford, 2024)
A survey by the Guardian Australia also engaged with a range of Australian voters (18-34, 35-54, 55+ categories, respectively) and questioned to what extent voters would support or oppose the proposed ban (strongly, somewhat or neither) (Lewis, 2024). In no age range does an overwhelming majority back the ban, the closest to a majority is unsurprisingly, in the 55+ range, with 50% of surveyed voters claiming strong “support” for the ban.
So while the ban may not be key in altering the election outcome, public perception still sees a ban as excessive.
It’s much easier for me to celebrate this ban as a young adult that lived my formative years through a wave of social media, but nothing is fixed by shoving the mess into a drawer.
References
Lewis P (2024, September 24). Australian voters may want children banned from social media. But they want stronger privacy rules even more. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/commentisfree/2024/sep/24/australian-voters-want-children-banned-from-social-media-but-they-want-stronger-privacy-rules-even-more
Long C (2024, September 9). Social media ban for children to be introduced this year, but age limit undetermined. ABC News. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-09-09/government-plans-social-media-porn-site-age-limit/104329920
National Cyber Security Centre. (2019) Social Media: how to use it safely [Photograph]. UK Government. https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/guidance/social-media-how-to-use-it-safely
Oxford, D (2024). Australia’s social media ban for minors: Has this worked elsewhere? AlJazeera.https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/9/19/australias-social-media-ban-for-minors-has-this-worked-elsewhere
thedailyaus (2024, September 21) Breaking: The Federal Government will introduce laws to enforce a minimum age for access to social media. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/C_scV_vy-tO/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==