In late November, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese officially announced that minors under the age of 16 will no longer be able to create social media accounts on most platforms.
Through AI detection and the requirement to upload documentation, social media companies will be forced to verify users’ ages, and failure to comply will result in a massive fine of up to millions of dollars (AUD). As of now, the exact applications that are included in this ban have not been specified. However, Communication Minister Michelle Rowland has stated that Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram, will be targeted. The bill, recently approved by the Parliament, has sparked massive division and controversy in the nation.
Many experts have applauded the decision, stating that this is the first major step towards combating the many issues children face today in relation to excessive social media exposure. This argument stems from concerns over accessibility on social media. Many experts believe that kids nowadays are exposed to content that is incredibly harmful to their development, including explicit content, violence, and ideas that can easily be misinterpreted. Most notoriously, not all the content available on social media is accurate. The most widely held belief is that since kids do not yet possess the critical thinking skills to fully grasp what they are viewing and discern fact from fiction, it is safer for their overall well-being to abstain from social media altogether.
Statistically, these claims are not unfounded – Mayo Clinic studies have found that spending longer than three hours per day on social media correlates with heightened risks of mental health problems, such as depression or anxiety, which have seen significant increases in the last few years among adolescents.
However, not all Australians agree with this stance, with many having taken to social media to criticize this bill. On this side of the argument, critics state that the ban is overly restrictive and could potentially worsen the problem. Children are often adept at bypassing similar restrictions, so many claim that this bill has no bearing, as it will not successfully improve the issue minors are facing. The Australian Association of Psychologists’ director, Carly Dober, described it as “a band-aid response to a very complicated and deeply entrenched issue”.
In addition, many state that the bill is equally detrimental as it is helpful as it restricts children’s access to helpful communities and relevant information that comes from some of these social media platforms. Following this line of reasoning, today’s youth are arguably more educated than other generations on important topics such as politics, and a big part of that is access to social media. Thus, the ban would eliminate the possibility of meaningful online interactions, based on the wrongful assumption that all media exposure is bad.
As one of the first countries to make such a bold move in regards to children’s online safety, the world will be watching closely as Australia implements this ban, eagerly awaiting results.