"Ridiculous": local kids slam social media ban

LOCAL parents and teenagers have reacted to the Federal Government’s new legislation banning under 16s from social media platforms, which passed in parliament last week. Most parents who spoke to this masthead supported the ban as a measure to prevent addiction, cyberbullying and exposure to extreme content, but some local kids said it will remove a valuable outlet for creativity, business pursuits and connecting with others in different regions. Under 16s will be barred from Snapchat, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, X and other platforms, no later than 12 months from the bill’s passing, the government said. Year 10 student Jeremiah Johnston used social media, particularly Instagram, when he was under 16 for his music and business endeavours. The Euroa 16-year-old is lead singer and guitarist of The Viceroys, a band he started with two friends from Euroa Secondary College. “I am in complete and utter disagreement with [the ban],” Jeremiah said. “It’s really important [in the music scene] to be able to say, ‘here’s my Instagram’. “We've had people texting [our band] all the way from Albury that have never met us, saying, ‘we are looking for people to play this gig, do you guys want to join?’ “And the only reason they've found us is because they're scrolling through and seeing us, because we've put probably hundreds of hours into forming this Instagram page, making these videos, making these posts and getting professional photos of us. “It actually won't affect me anymore as a 16-year-old, but it would have last year… I think it's ridiculous.” Jeremiah said he also used social media to promote his own music business and to stay connected with friends from different regions he met on a youth leadership camp. Euroa’s Will Bickerton, 14, said when he heard about the ban, “my first thought was, ‘I don't think that's really fair’, because lots of teenagers use social media to use their creativity and express themselves”. Gooram farmer Jace Simmons is a father to two young entrepreneurs, Remy (12) and Carter (11), who use social media to promote their businesses. Mr Simmons and his wife already run the social media pages for Remy (who sells earrings) and Carter (who sells woodwork products), based on the kids’ photos and ideas. But the ban will prevent the kids from having full autonomy over the businesses until a later age. Carter also uses the Euroa Community Noticeboard Facebook page to reach out to the community – for example, if he needs horseshoes to weld for his woodwork products. “I think people enjoy interacting with Carter in the community because he's so young, and they're always appreciative, saying, ‘oh, I can help you out’,” Mr Simmons said. “But I'll have to be the one that puts those posts up now, so it's sort of divided a few people that he won't be able to talk to the community himself anymore, which I think is a negative thing.” Mr Simmons said he was “torn” on the ban but thought it was a “decent idea”. “A lot of parents are using media devices now to parent their kids instead of actually spending time with them, and a lot of them do get tangled up in online grooming and things like that,” he said. Violet Town 13-year-old Parker Jeffery admitted social media addiction was a problem for young people. “One of my friends spends eight hours a day on his phone, can't get off it,” he said. “He spends a lot of time on Instagram and TikTok and can't help himself, and he’s 11.” Parker said that on social media, he has seen “videos of people killing themselves, people getting hit by cars, animals getting slaughtered… and you don't mean to, you just come across it”. He thinks this extreme content should be targeted by the legislation, instead of an outright ban for under 16s. His dad, Steven Jeffery, supports the ban, saying cyberbullying and exposure to self-harm content on social media platforms is particularly concerning. “Because it's unsupervised, [teenagers] build a notion that [self-harm] is normal behavior,” he said. “They think that that's the way to get through and that's the way to get attention, and it's not. “I've actually seen it firsthand, not my kids, but where kids have carried out self-harm, and the root of it is through those social media platforms.” Euroa-based mental health social worker Gemma Parkinson, who specialises in working with young people and their families, strongly supports the ban. “Growing up, I heard don’t take lollies from strangers and be cautious of men in vans,” she said. “Now those lollies and men in vans could be [sitting] in your lounge room slowly driving a wedge between you and your child. “Some of my friends and circle have talked about a resounding relief that the government is supporting parents with this.” She said social media exposed under 16s to addiction, cyberbullying, an increased risk of self-harm, an increased risk of eating disorders and poor body image, and misogynistic and extreme content, all while their brains were still developing. A young parent herself, Ms Parkinson said: “Parents have been completely disempowered here, we are one of the first generations to navigate this issue in our parenting world.” Indi MP Helen Haines has supported the bill, after initially telling North East Media she was undecided. In a speech in parliament, Dr Haines echoed Ms Parkinson’s concern that parents had been disempowered, saying: “These dangers and opportunities are ones that no generation [of parents] before us has faced, and what’s abundantly clear is that the online world is a world where the rules and mores of the cultures we’ve relied on for generations to guide us no longer apply. As parents, we simply don’t have the tools to keep our kids safe in this space.” Dr Haines said it had been a difficult decision and she supported the bill despite concerns it had been rushed through parliament without enough time for more scrutiny and debate. “I speak with parents, who often tell me stories of children exposed to pornography through social media, of primary school aged children relentlessly bullied and tormented online, of teenagers struggling with eating disorders being bombarded with dieting advice and of spiralling declines in mental health and increases in suicide,” she said. She also sees benefits for young people “for whom social media has given them a voice when they might not otherwise [have one] or to find like-minded people they might not otherwise meet. This is especially true for young people living in regional areas, for a person of colour or for queer kids.” But Dr Haines said the benefits did not outweigh the negatives, concluding that “as legislators and as a parliament, we have to back our parents – the parents of Australia.” Some, like Euroa 14-year-old Paddy Murphy, think the ban just won’t work. “It won’t change anything,” he predicted. A recent YouGov poll found 77 percent of Australians back the ban.