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Anthea Kalathas

Children's social media ban: justified or not needed?

Procrastination, FOMO and addiction to screens are just some of the struggles younger generations face as a consequence of social media use. But what is it costing young people?


Social Media on an iphone, (Credit: Adobe Stock - Educational Licence)

The Albanese-led, Labor Government will introduce legislation to enforce a minimum age for access to social media and other relevant digital platforms.


This proposal will be put forth at the end of 2024, with TikTok, Instagram and Facebook being some of the banned platforms. The ban extends to ages between fourteen and sixteen years old. 


Social media is a huge part of Gen Z’s life. The forums provided ways for young people to get through treacherous COVID-19 lockdowns, further build relationships with friends online and have different sources of entertainment. 


However, according to the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS), 2021 study, excessive screen time and social media use in teenagers can affect family functioning, and emotional regulation, especially in girls. Additionally, social and physiological issues have been recorded in young children in relation to the amount of time they spent on their screens. 


Fifteen-year-old twins Audrey and Lola Gadsby use social media daily to contact friends, entertain themselves and essentially doom scroll.


Lola Gadsby explained that she and Audrey Gadsby barely have anyone’s phone number, “I just use Snapchat,” she said. 


Both girls said the amount of time they spend procrastinating is a consequence of social media. 


While they are only in Year 9, when asked about their future study habits, Audrey Gadsby considered how a one-year ban could benefit her productivity in VCE.


“If I had [the social media ban] for a year it might help for VCE because I would be less inclined to be on my phone because I would be used to it,” she said.  


The responsibility for managing children’s social media and phone usage can also fall back on parents. However, Lola and Audrey Gadsby have created their own social media screen time restrictions, that only the other twin has the passcode to.


“It's about 30 minutes a day.” Lola Gasby said. 


The twins' father, Craig Gadsby, has watched 3 of his teenage daughters form a reliance on social media yet he doesn't  “categorically agree with” the ban while he compared it to like “George Orwell’s 1984”. 


“I don't think they have a chance in hell to get [the ban] through and enforce it.”


Social media continues to affect not only children's mental health but also teenagers and adults. 


In the 2024 media release by Beyond Blue, Reachout and the Black Dog Institute, the director of the service at ReachOut said social media is, “a part of the worlds” of young people. 


“Many young people are using social media to access things like mental health support, to build their identities and as a source of connection.” 

Victorian students have suffered from a dependency on social media, leading to some issues with mental health and poor study habits.


Sarah, an 18-year-old psychology student at RMIT, said if she had a ban she could've been “going outside and learning” instead of spending time on social media, as well as having a better “attention span.”


“The way my brain was rerouted because of social media it would take a really long time for me to stop using it”.  


“I wish there were some restrictions when I was younger, although I don’t think my generation needed it as much as Generation Alpha kids do now,” Jade, an 18-year-old, journalism student at RMIT said.


With the previous ban on phones in government schools implemented in 2020, and now the proposal of a nationwide social media ban, governments are pushing children away from a reliance on technology at a young age.


RMIT Professor of Information Sciences Lisa Given stated the proposal of a social media ban is “premature and not supported by clear evidence.”


“Children need to gain the necessary skills to navigate online worlds – including social media – and banning them from these platforms is not the solution.” 


With RMIT and all university students having very few restrictions on phones, the internet and social media, could the social media ban on younger demographics produce the benefits the government is hoping for?


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