Proposed Social Media ban for under-16 kids

[kamchatsky]

Is AFF considered to be Social Media? If so, how would AFF ban under-16 kids?

'Enough is enough': Kids set to be blocked from social media

The Albanese government will tomorrow commit to introducing legislation on a social media age limit, follow...

www.9news.com.au

 

[Pushka]

Is AFF considered to be Social Media? If so, how would AFF ban under-16 kids?

'Enough is enough': Kids set to be blocked from social media

The Albanese government will tomorrow commit to introducing legislation on a social media age limit, follow...

www.9news.com.au

Definitely social media. And have no idea how this can be enforced anywhere.

 

[VPS]

If it saves one kid from self harm or suicide then it's a success

 

[elanshin]

Rather than social media bans, as with all other technology related kids issues, education is the only real way forward.

The more you "ban" something for kids, the more likely they'll find a way to circumvent it and check it out.

 

[andye]

I agree some will get around it. Probably the biggest effect will come from children having an excuse not to be on it. Many don't really want to, but get the feeling it's social death if they don't.
It's a bit like the school phone ban. Some will bring burner phones to hand in, but the majority prefer the recess experience without

 

[Denali]

More and more Ive been saying lately that the internet is a cesspit - I cant imagine navigating the Fyre-fest it is these days if I was a minor.

I dont think bans work - the more you tell a teen they cant have it, the more creative they get. We've all done it ourselves.

As someone that is not a parent I say I would be a parent that would have strict no screen times (ie phones go in a box every evening etc) and no tiktok, YT channels etc but again, kids are sneaky and a lot more IT smarter than I am so they would get around it while I would be blissfully unaware and in denial

Again, as a non parent, I encourage people to talk to your kids and if they dont want to talk to you maybe a therapist to help bridge the gap.

 

[CaptJCool]

The trouble with the kids are often more IT literate Than their parents. So they run rings around them

You can hide apps and browsing history etc etc

So unless there’s something enforceable like ID verification or it’s connected up with the Telco phone subscription services

) it won’t work

And besides what happened online it see or happen in the playground …

 

[RooFlyer]

The trouble with the kids are often more IT literate Than their parents. So they run rings around them

The proposed ban is going to put the onus on the tech companies; there will be no penalty on the user side for non compliance.

I'm happy with a ban. Yes, some/many will get round it, but some/many will be shielded, and that's a good thing, and as @VPS says, one kid saved is a success.

 

[JessicaTam]

The legislation will determine what is and isn't social media. And then the next twelve months time enough to put controls into place.

 

[markis10]

I am not happy with the ban as the father of 15 year old, social media has repeatedly shown its reluctance to moderate/enforce poor behaviour standards, to the detriment of all, this does nothing to change that other than removing a small percentage of the victims who will feel alienated from their peers. Dialogue creates bridges, preventing that dialogue creates islands.

 

[Captain Halliday]

Is AFF considered to be Social Media? If so, how would AFF ban under-16 kids?

AFF: a thriving hangout for troublesome teens. It’s about time the crackdown began!

The site will be better off without them I say!

 

[SuePa]

There are already age restrictions on many social media sites (usually age 13) and I've seen parents allow their their children to put in false dates of birth and then complain when there's an issue.
I'm still on the fence about a ban.

 

[kamchatsky]

I am guessing that myID will be used for verification purposes, let’s see when the details come out

Home | myGovID

myGovID is changing to myID

www.mygovid.gov.au

 

[elanshin]

I am guessing that myID will be used for verification purposes, let’s see when the details come out

Home | myGovID

myGovID is changing to myID

www.mygovid.gov.au

So to answer this, gaming in China is excessively strictly controlled by the government for under 18 year olds.

There suddenly was an increase in grannies playing games.

 

[Daver6]

I'd say online forums, like AFF, are not social media.

It's going to be a total waste of money rolling this ban out. It will be easily circumvented. History has shown any attempts by government to ban things on the internet are easy to bypass.

I can't think of a way that this could possibly be enforced.

 

[dajop]

The question is what is the objective here? The vast majority of "child" suicides occur in the 15-17 age group, and difficult to tell from the data what the main contributing factors were in the 14 and under group, It seems from the data they were particularly high in 2020 and 2021, I wonder if there might have been other factors at play in those two years?

Suicide among young people

Suicide among young people page on the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare website

www.aihw.gov.au

I wonder if we (as a society) after 10-15 years are now only really starting to appreciate the impacts and issues around social media and as a result are becoming better equipped to educate children in how to navigate this. Particularly over the next 5-10 years as some teenagers who used social media as teens are now becoming parents themselves. A 16 yo using social media in 2013, would now be 27. Some could have children who are already at primary school.

Thus I'm not sure what a ban will achieve. In fact looking at the stats, without exposure as early teens, it could become even more difficult to navigate when suddenly the flood gates open at age 16, where suddenly and tragically, youth really seem to start taking their own lives.

Then there's the complexity around peers of different ages in the same class and social groups.

TBH it seems to be more of a simple political solution to a complex problem than anything else.