A joint summit between the New South Wales (NSW) and South Australian (SA) governments will seek to garner support for age restrictions on social media use.
The two-day event, held in Sydney, is being spearheaded by NSW Premier Chris Minns and SA Premier Peter Malinauskas.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is also attending the summit.
Legislation to ban children from social media use in Australia has bipartisan support from both major parties in the nation, as well as many other politicians.
What hasn’t been agreed upon is a suitable age, with suggestions floating for bans from ages 14 to 16.
Albanese has asked state and territory leaders for their preferred cut-off ages.
Minns said he hoped the forum would gather momentum for change, with increased incidents of self-harm, mental health issues, and youth suicide correlating with growing social media use.
Currently, around 84 percent of children aged eight to 12 have access to social media platforms.
Malinauskas said that while some children would still find a way around the bans, they were necessary in order to set a standard. He added that social media companies should enforce the law just as pubs are tasked with not selling alcohol to minors.
“We can advance not just the sense of momentum around the policy idea, but actually cement and bed down what other reforms can come on top of an age limit,” he told ABC radio.
Instagram Change
Hugely popular image-sharing app Instagram, owned by social media giant Meta, recently announced users in Australia, the United States, the UK, and Canada who were under 18 would automatically be placed on “teen accounts.”The accounts would involve new rules and restrictions including limiting who can contact users and reducing screen time.
The ABC reported that Labor frontbencher Jason Clare supported the move but said it didn’t go far enough and that children needed to be out being active rather than online.
Call for Ban Until 16
Leaders of the Wait Mate campaign, which advocates for preventing smartphone use until around high school age, have supported all government moves towards tougher restrictions for children on social media.Co-founder Amy Friedlander told The Epoch Times that experts such as social psychologist Jonathan Haidt believed 16 should be the minimum age for children on social media platforms.
Opposing Bans
Social media bans for children have been met with opposition by the Greens and certain youth organisations.Youth mental health organisation ReachOut warned blocking social media access for young people risked alienating them from a key support system.
Research conducted by the group found that almost three-quarters of people aged 16 to 25 relied on social media for mental health support.
“Young people are using social media to access free mental health information available around the clock … it’s vital to discuss what other mental health supports will be provided if social media bans are introduced,” ReachOut chief executive Gary Groves told AAP.
Greens Spokesperson for Communications and Deputy Chair of the Joint Select Committee on Social Media and Australian Society, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, labelled the plan to ban kids from social media a “knee-jerk policy.”
“We don’t ban kids from going to the beach—we teach them how to swim and make sure they swim between the flags. There are safety measures put in place to keep them safe—flags, lifeguards, adult supervision, and swimming lessons,” she said in a statement.
“We need to teach children how to use social media and understand there are many positive benefits, particularly for marginalised kids, to being online.”
