Modern parents lack the benefit of generational advice when it comes to handling social media challenges with their children, New South Wales Premier Chris Minns has said.
His comments come on the second day of a social media summit co-hosted alongside South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas, focusing on reducing youth access to social media amid a growing body of evidence showing its links to mental health concerns in young people.
Minns said parents did not have generational knowledge to fall back on when working out how to deal with social media challenges.
“The best thing you can do as a parent, and what’s been done for generations when you’re looking for advice or expertise about how to raise your own kids, is to ask your parents or your grandparents about what they did when you’re a pain in the bum,” he said on FIVEAA Radio.
“But that’s not available to us, because this is the first generation that’s gone through widespread, ubiquitous use of social media, and what they’re being exposed to online.”
Minns said social media companies knew access to their platforms was damaging for young people but had not taken strong enough action.
“They’re the richest, most powerful firms in the world, and they effectively refuse to do anything about it,” he said.
Decisions on Age, Penalties
While authorities are still determining the appropriate age for children to start using social media, Communications Minister Michelle Rowland says children and parents will not face penalties for breaking any incoming rules.Instead, responsibility will fall on social media giants to enforce restrictions.
A ban is likely to apply to children aged between 14 and 16, with some parenting groups such as the founders of the Wait Mate campaign, calling on the age limit to be set at 16.
Rowland said children and parents did not have to worry about being penalised.
“It will be incumbent on the platforms to demonstrate they are taking reasonable steps to ensure fundamental protections are in place,” she said during a speech at the social media summit on Oct. 11.
The government is also considering if some social media platforms could be exempt from bans if they are deemed less harmful to children.
“The aim is to create positive incentives for digital platforms to develop age-appropriate versions of their apps,” Rowland said.
“We are conscious of the harmful features in the design of platforms that drive addictive behaviours.
“This is why we will set parameters to guide platforms in designing social media that allows connections, but not harms, to flourish.”
Rowland said Meta’s recent changes to Instragram, proved that tech companies are capable of creating safer online environments. Meta introduced new “teen accounts” for Instagram users under 18, giving parents more control over their activity, including the option to restrict access to the app during nighttime hours.
“So the platforms have the capacity to do more and they should be doing more,” she told ABC TV.
A trial of age verification technology has shown that technology giants can enforce age limits, she said, and they will be given a 12-month grace period to adapt to any new changes.
