New social media age limit legislation is set to be introduced before the next election , to protect the mental health and safety of children and young teens — but will it work? The Albanese government announced the proposed ban last week, with the age limit and implementation plan yet to be outlined. Experts worry the ban alone is not enough to achieve cyber safety for teens, and that it would raise new concerns about what happens when teens age out of the ban — but parents who have experienced the worst-case outcomes say any action is a positive. Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today Experts also believe that the funding required to implement the ban could be better spent educating young users and their parents, legislating social media companies, and resourcing further support frameworks.
A total ban on social media will also take away the benefits of social media, adversely affecting marginalised youth groups, Senior Lecturer at RMIT Dr Dana McKay told 7NEWS.com.au.
“For kids who might not do so well in social situations, such as neurodivergent kids ...
shifting that interaction online and slowing it down a bit can help,” McKay said. “They’re just trying to use a very blunt instrument to address a problem that can’t be addressed,” she said. “It’s just pushing the problem onto older age groups, who parents have less influence over.
” It is also unclear what will count as social media, with platforms like YouTube a possible grey area. Many of.