Can Australia cope with the idea of a ban on children from social media?

Trust me, it is no longer news that children and social media are indeed best of friends now. Checking it out on TikTok, sharing on Instagram, and rocking it on Snapchat are as regular as doing homework or maybe even more. But here’s the catch: The issue of limiting children’s use of social media is weighing heavily on the Australian government and turning out to be a much bigger problem than first imagined.

So, what’s the deal? Why is it hard to ‘ban’ children from social media in Australia? Let’s break it down.

What Lies Behind the Campaign for a Social Media Ban?

But firstly, as to why Australia should want to curtail children’s social media use, let’s look at the obstacles.

• Mental Health Concerns

A study reveals an upward trend of increased social media dependency and a negative correlation between the two and children’s well-being, including anxiety, depression, and poor self-esteem. What most children get to see on social platforms include cases of bullying, the increase in the rates of body shaming, and the ever-constant need to appear perfect in all we do.

• Privacy Risks

There are risks for children to become victims of sexual predators over the internet and abuse their data. Individual social media accounts typically have user information, and a lot of kids do not know how their information is being used or even exploited.

• Academic Impact

Let’s face it: The current problem that strikes could be reduced through efficient time management is social media. This is one major concern that most parents and teachers have; they believe such time is being spent on learning and communication.

• Government Responsibility

There is an emerging call for governments from across the world to reign in big tech companies and guarantee the safety of children online. Australia is no exception, and policymakers are under the gun to deliver results.

What’s the plan?

It has proposed concepts such as heavily regulated age check mechanisms, young persons who cannot access prohibited content online without parental consent, and heavy penalties for the platforms that do not implement these measures. Sounds good on paper, right? But the real world is different from theory.

The problems associated with enforcing such a ban

OK, let me call a spade a spade—can anyone tell me that it is easy to institute a social media policy for children? Here’s why:

1. Age Verification Is Tricky

Yes, it can require that such platforms ensure that every user included in the media has to be above a certain age, but how is it possible? Asking for ID might help with adults, but it is not as effective with children, of course. In a way, it is relatively simple for most children to fake documents and claim to be older than they are, while implementing more rigorous conformity checks could compromise privacy rights.

2. Parental Challenges

Unfortunately, not all parents can be au courant with the latest technology to supervise their kids online. Although some platforms have adopted parental control measures, eventual enforcement largely depends on the parental agents. That is why many parents just don’t have enough time or necessary knowledge to follow these trends and keep up with the pace.

3. Kids Find Workarounds

Kids today are tech wizards. You shut down one or the other application, and they will just switch to another one. You tell them that they can only use devices for a certain amount of time, yet they will use a friend’s gadget. Censorship in social networks is much like whack-a-mole—each time you hammer away at the access, another gap appears.

4. Cultural Resistance

Let’s be honest: exempting kids entirely from the social media space isn’t feasible, let alone socially acceptable. Opponents state that the idea is to set bans instead of promoting unsafe ways to teach children proper usage.

The Bottom Line

Yes, indeed, Australia is in a fix for different reasons to enforce the social media ban on children. While the idea is very good and the problems perfectly reasonable, the flaw is in the process. Hence verifying age is quite a challenge; the key tech players are quite reluctant, and children are always very inventive.

Therefore, is a ban the final solution? Maybe not. The real solution seems to lie in improved regulation, increased parental control, and teaching children about the right use. Meanwhile, the struggle continues for kids, screens, and society.

In your opinion, is the situation in Australia as a country making it appropriate to try even harder to ban these videos, or should the strategy be changed altogether? What do you think? Let’s hear it in the comments!