Social media ban for under–16s in Australia
Last week, Cultural Perspectives welcomed Elizabeth, a student completing a work experience placement. During her time with us, we discussed the social media ban and realised it was a great opportunity to hear from someone actually under 16, bringing Elizabeth’s perspective into the conversation.
The Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024, more commonly referred to as the social media ban for under-16s, is a bill that will restrict anyone who is under 16 years old in Australia from having an account on platforms like YouTube, Instagram, X (Twitter), TikTok and Snapchat. It is the platforms’ responsibility, not the child’s or parents’, to follow this bill. However, when trying to find out which users need to be removed, the platforms are not allowed to use government ID as a form of identification and so must instead resort to using things like the user’s algorithm, posts, voice and location.
The reasoning behind this bill is that the government believes it will allow adolescent brains to grow up without being affected by harmful body images, misinformation, online predators or cyberbullying. By forcing the platforms to restrict accounts for under-16s, the government believes it will allow different skills to develop further, like critical reasoning and impulse control, as well as making sure no one feels like they are missing out by not having a social media account. The government is advertising the importance of this social media bill to both teenagers and adults through their campaign “For The Good Of,” which uses television, radio, posters and ironically social media advertisements.
Many parents are in favour of this bill, agreeing with the government about the dangers associated with social media. There are, however, a substantial number of views from professionals which contrast this. Many teenagers use social media as a means of connection, whether that be finding people with similar interests to their own or helping people feel less isolated and allowing smaller minority groups to feel connected. Additionally, this bill will cause young, impressionable teenagers to be exposed to a smaller variety of opinions, their thoughts only influenced by their teachers and parents. If adolescents are allowed to explore a variety of opinions from when they are 13, this means they will be able to make more informed choices in their everyday life.
As someone who is directly involved in this discussion, I believe that this bill will not be as much of a success as the government says it will be. While I can see the benefits of reducing misinformation and bullying, there will still not be that much ‘reducing’ occurring because of how easily kids will find it to get around the restrictions. Kids will also still be getting bullied, but now that bullying will be hidden from parents because kids think they will get in trouble, worsening the issue. The bill could also cause teenagers to turn to darker corners of the internet, where they are more likely than before to be exposed to online predators and misinformation. When the government first announced this bill, they allowed professionals only a day to share their opinions and have barely included teenagers in the conversation at all, even though the bill will only be affecting teenagers, not adults or politicians. This especially matters because teenagers can have a job or fly a plane but are not able to scroll through Instagram or comment on a YouTube video.
That being said, it certainly makes sense for this bill to happen, as the increasing number of young people with depression and anxiety is tied to an increase in social media usage. Therefore, while I do not completely agree with this bill, I do think that it will help some people. If the platforms are fully committed to having no under-16s on their apps, then the effects will be good, but it is unlikely that these big platforms will be that committed to this issue, and the ban will not be effective enough to justify any potential positive outcomes.
Follow Cultural Perspectives to stay informed with our latest news, updates and multicultural insights.