The Australian Government has committed to banning children under 16 from social media, with legislation they aim to have in place before the end of the year. So, should NZ be doing the same? We take a look at the different views on this topic…
Last Thursday, the Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced that the government will legislate a ban on social media for children under 16.
“Social media is doing harm to our kids and I’m calling time on it,” he said. “If you’re a 14-year-old kid getting this stuff, at a time where you’re going through life’s changes and maturing, it can be a really difficult time and what we’re doing is listening and then acting,” he said.
The move comes after several long-term studies have highlighted the dangers of social media – which the US Surgeon General found so disturbing, they called for warning labels on social media, akin to those on cigarettes, alerting users to the “significant mental health harms for adolescents”.
So, where are we at on the topic in NZ? is it something we should be pushing here for in NZ?
Well, in short, there is an expert-led advocacy group called Before 16 here and they’re months into work on advancing this cause in NZ. But not everyone agrees that it’s the right answer to the problem – and for some very interesting reasons.
We ran a poll on our Instagram page last Friday and 81% of you were in favour of seeing the same legislation brought in here.
“I am terrified of what my 14-year-old might stumble upon,” said one respondent. “I have banned her, but she always finds a way on it.” “Could we make this happen, today?” said another. “I caved and let my 13-year-old join Instagram – on her first (and last) day on it she saw the poor headless Gaza baby”.
Holly Brooker, a Child Safety Advocate at Makes Sense (and also a Capsule 2024 Good B*tch finalist!) says our poll results and the ‘my god, could we just bring it in here’ comments we received are very in line with what the information and research she has at her fingertips. Some of the stories she has been hearing about children’s experiences on social media are enough to give fully grown adults nightmares.
“I know a mother whose 11-year-old son was sent videos of animal cruelty (dogs being skinned alive) and another whose boy was sent sexual abuse content,” she says. “Stories of grooming and exposure to illegal content on social media are disturbingly common, the NZ police have recently issued warnings about this.”
Holly is part of Before 16 and says they will be launching a petition soon “We’ve been in discussions for months and have begun engaging with members of parliament to build momentum. Our group comprises professionals with extensive expertise in technology, parenting, research, and education, and public support will be crucial to driving this change.”
Holly says we “absolutely should” adopt similar legislation in NZ as to what has been proposed in Australia.
“In 2024, we’re in a better-informed position to understand the effects of social media on young people, having observed trends over the last 10-15 years,” she says. “The risks include mental health challenges, anxiety, sleep disturbances, cyberbullying, exposure to harmful content, addiction, and self-esteem issues.
“I frequently hear from principals, teachers, school counsellors, and parents about these impacts and more. For instance, a school wellbeing advisor recently reached out, expressing concerns over tech addiction, particularly around gaming and social media and the impacts on her students sleep and learning. Beyond anecdotal evidence, we have robust global data reinforcing these impacts.
Holly says that in the past parents may have sensed these harms and been unsure what sort of access they should be giving their children to social media, but now we have concrete evidence that it is doing harm.
“We must act, not only by changing the cultural norm of giving children unrestricted access to social media (and phones), we’re seeing that by age 11 most NZ kids have a smartphone with no restrictions to the web and social media,” she says. “Most parents I speak to wish they’d held off giving their kids phones and social media and most parents want age limits to 16, to help reinforce their attempts to delay. It really is time for the industry to be held accountable for the products they are pushing out.”
But, on the flipside, Netsafe NZ says legislation isn’t the answer and it could just push problems underground.
Netsafe has been around for 25 years and is Aotearoa’s independent online safety charity – and the approved agency under the Harmful Digital Communications Act. Brent Carey, the CEO of Netsafe, says that in the 2024 financial year the charity received more than 28,000 reports of online harm.
Brent says that delaying exposure to social harm from 13 (the current minimum age required by most social media providers) “does not in itself eliminate the risks young people face online. Neither does it do anything practical to help young people manage them, whether they are on a platform legitimately or not”.
“We hear from parents and caregivers worried about cyberbullying, exposure to harmful content, privacy breaches, or how much time their children spend online,” he says. “However, when we speak to young people, their worries look quite different. They’re more focused on navigating friendships, dealing with romantic relationships in the digital space, and managing their mental health and self-esteem.”
Brent says that the public debate on this topic should really be about “helping young people to develop the skills needed to self-regulate, manage distractions and make informed decisions.”
He says that we need to also look at the positives our young people gain from social media – from connecting with causes, to learning new skills, to finding communities they connect with online. “Not everyone has a safe neighbourhood, a supportive family, or feels included in their classroom,” he says.
Netsafe’s stance is similar to The Digital Industry Group, an Australian representative body which includes Meta, TikTok, X and Alphabet’s Google as members. They are concerned that the Australian legislation could encourage young people to explore darker, unregulated parts of the internet while cutting their access to support networks.
“Keeping young people safe online is a top priority…but the proposed ban for teenagers to access digital platforms is a 20th Century response to 21st Century challenges,” says DIGI Managing Director Sunita Bose. “Rather than blocking access through bans, we need to take a balanced approach to create age-appropriate spaces, build digital literacy and protect young people from online harm.”
