Jean Hinchliffe is an author and activist who credits by first exposing her to political activism when she was about 13 or 14 years old.
She remembers coming across posts about the marriage equality campaign on Twitter and signing up to volunteer.
At the age of 15, Hinchliffe was a key organiser of School Strike 4 Climate, an organisation through which young people staged mass protests across the country calling on the government to take more serious action on climate change.
She says that School Strike organizers rely heavily on Facebook Messenger and Instagram to organize, and use these platforms to speak directly to young audiences.
Now 20, Hinchliffe says that recent to limit access to social media to those aged 16 and over have alarmed her.
“If there is no platform for this, it becomes very difficult for young people to build social movements together, because this is only possible through social media and online environments,” she said.
Hinchliffe is concerned about social media, particularly the curation of feeds driven by hidden algorithms. However, she also sees the online world as an indispensable form of connection for young people.
“I think the problem lies not so much in young people’s access to social media, but rather in the social media platforms themselves and the lack of regulation around them,” she said.
“It feels like a much broader social issue when these public town squares are facilitated by private companies that have no sense of transparency whatsoever.”
What do politicians say about social media?
Age restrictions on social media have become a bipartisan focus in federal politics in recent weeks, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton both voicing their support for banning under-16s from social media.
Currently, all major social media platforms require users to be at least 13 years old. However, cybersecurity experts say these restrictions can be circumvented.
Albanians have called social media a “plague” and the government has pledged $6.5 million to test “age insurance technologies.”
In May, the government announced an investigation into the influence and impact of social media on Australian society.
How do social media affect the mental health of young people?
There is little consensus among researchers about the effects social media has on young people’s mental health.
A group of researchers from Masaryk University in the Czech Republic point to the recent publication of a book – The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by American social psychologist Professor Jonathan Haidt – as the catalyst for this. political debates.
However, that’s what the researchers say .
The group wrote that researchers “focusing on the complex relationships between different technologies and adolescent well-being have no evidence that engagement with digital technology leads to a more serious impact on adolescents’ mental health problems in the long term.”
Global data has shown a strong relationship between screen time and symptoms of depression and anxiety in adolescents.
However, It is “unclear whether the use of digital technology leads to poorer mental health, or whether young people with psychological complaints simply use technology more than healthy young people”.
Research from the Black Dog Institute has also found that the impact of social media on mental health is highly dependent on the type of social media used.
Active use of social media, where users actively connect with others, has been shown to have potential mental health benefits, including emotional regulation.
Could a ban be more dangerous for young people?
Jackie Hallan, ReachOut’s interim CEO, says the organization has major concerns about the unintended safety consequences of banning under-16s from social media.
“If there is a ban and young people find solutions, then we know that if something goes wrong and it’s something they shouldn’t have done, or they don’t have permission from their parents or carers, they’re less likely to talk to them and less likely to get support,” she said.
The eSafety Commissioner warned this week that bans would lead some young people to use social media secretly, pushing them towards less regulated, non-mainstream services that could “increase their likelihood of exposure to risks”.
Does social media benefit young people?
Hallan says the proposed bans fail to take into account the nuanced effects of social media.
She says that while there are some “challenging” aspects to social media, many experiences are left out of mainstream political discussions.
“We know that young people can use it to express their creativity, to learn new skills through things like YouTube, or to learn about issues they face in the world,” Hallan said.
Hallan also says young people often use social media as a starting point for seeking mental health support.
For many young people from marginalized communities, social media can be an indispensable tool for connecting and finding support.
Adrian Murdoch, chief executive of Minus18, an advocacy organization for LGBTIQ+ young people, says social media is an important way for young people from the community to connect.
According to Murdoch, social media can provide “pseudo-anonymity for people who are out of the closet or in unsupportive environments” or “provide an accessible way to meet others for people living in regional and rural communities.” live”.
A supports Murdoch’s argument, finding that social media can support the mental health and wellbeing of LGBTIQ+ young people through peer connection, identity management and social support.
However, Murdoch notes that being online can pose risks of cyberbullying and says safe platforms for LGBTIQ+ teens must be provided.
Will a minimum age exclude teenagers from important conversations?
Leo Puglisi, founder of online news channel 6 News Australia, began producing journalism on YouTube at the age of 11, with his parents’ permission and supervision.
Puglisi has about a dozen reporters on the 6 News team and says the proposed age restriction would mean losing three of those reporters from their social media platforms.
“Our national affairs editor, who interviewed Anthony Albanese and Scott Morrison when he was much younger, and our election reporter, would all be taken off social media,” he said.
Puglisi fears that a ban on social media could leave some teenagers without access to political news and information.
“I think we want young people to be more politically engaged and to understand it better. We really want these young people to be able to engage with the news on platforms that are more tailored to them, or really just the ones that they are going to engage with.”
While Jean Hinchliffe acknowledges the dangers of finding information online, she does not believe that teenagers are particularly vulnerable to disinformation. She worries that by cutting off under-16s from social media, many will lose a sense of social or political empowerment.
“I think it absolutely denies young people access to where politics is happening and where public debate is happening… and I think that’s worrying because the voices of young people, especially when it comes to the issues of the climate crisis, are a should be given a platform and heard.
“And to deny that, I think it’s very negative.”
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