We have just taken a step backwards

or perhaps it is a leap?

The ban on under 16s using social media passed the Senate of federal parliament last night. The arguments for the ban were along the lines of "this is what all parents want", "this is how we stop bullying" and "this is how we improve the mental health of adolescents" and much more.

It is not "what all parents want" by any means. Some parents will welcome it - and rightly so. A small minority may not care and will possibly allow their children to access it under their own names. (Interesting question is who will then be responsible if their little darlings are caught.) 

It will not stop bullying. It may be less difficult to broadcast it but bullying will continue - and may become more physically violent or theft related. 

It will probably not improve the mental health of adolescents. The research to date suggests there is a very weak link, if any, between mental health and the use of social media. We will have to wait and see if there is any change in research outcomes but that sort of research is fraught with difficulties.

The other issues which arise such as "age verification" are not matters for social media organisations to become involved in. The responsibility for this has to come from parents in the first instance - and they are the people who should be fined if they knowingly allow their under sixteen to use banned social media. Schools can play a part in this but the primary responsibility has to lie with parents. 

And then there are the teens who will tech-savvy enough to get around the bans. Can the government really believe they can ban every citizen of this country from using a VPN in order to try an implement this ban? That raises all sorts of security issues. Can you really prevent them from doing it anywhere in the world?

There is also a real social and safety issue here - communication between families and friends, migrants and refugees will be hindered by this ban. Children may never get to know grandparents and other relatives who live elsewhere. It was that way once - at most a three minute call on one day of the year. Do we want that to happen now when people are moving around more and more? How does a child communicate with a parent abroad for work? Do they go back to a supervised phone call on an old fashioned phone? Will it be easier for warring divorced parents to deny their children access to their absent parent?

Those things are just a start. Yes, of course social media can harm. It has been one contributing factor to the suicide of some young people and that is something no family should go through. especially loving parents. All that said though this is not something that has actually been thoroughly investigated and worked out. It won't work in its current form and there is a need to start again.