By Gavin Boyle
Australia became the first country in the world to try to protect young users from the dangers of social media by banning children under the age of 16 from using any social media platform.
“With one law, we can protect Generation Alpha from being sucked into purgatory by predatory algorithms described by the man who created the feature as ‘behavioral cocaine,’” said Australian Communications Minister Anika Wells.
“I’ve always referred to this as the first domino, which is why they pushed back,” added Julie Inman Grant, Australia’s eSafety Commissioner.
Related: Surgeon General Recommends Warning Labels for Social Media
The implementation of this law takes a major step in helping protect young users from the proven dangers of using these platforms early in life. While most social media sites currently do not allow users under the age 13 to make an account, they do very little to actually enforce this rule in practice.
Meanwhile, more and more data shows that social media has a significant net negative effect on users when they start to use platforms too early in life. Starting in 2023, governments across the world started to consider how to address this issue, and in June of that year, the U.S. Surgeon General called for a Surgeon General’s warning to be placed on social media, informing users of the negative impact social media has on developing brains.
“The mental health crisis among young people is an emergency — and social media has emerged as an important contributor,” Vivek Murthy wrote in a New York Times article explaining why the warning is necessary. “Adolescents who spend more than three hours a day on social media face double the risk of anxiety and depression symptoms, and the average daily use in this age group, as of the summer of 2023, was 4.8 hours. Additionally, nearly half of all adolescents say social media makes them feel worse about their bodies.”
“It is time to require a surgeon general’s warning label on social media platforms, stating that social media is associated with significant mental health harms for adolescents. A surgeon general’s warning label, which requires congressional action, would regularly remind parents and adolescents that social media has not been proven safe,” he continued.
While Australia is the first country to impose a nationwide ban like this, California also passed legislation earlier this year which will require social media platforms to flash warnings for users under the age of 18.
Only time will tell just how successful Australia’s new law will be, but if it proves to be a hit, many countries could soon follow suit, taking the pressure off kids to get on social media as soon as they possibly can.
Read Next: Wait…Teens Support a Social Media Ban? Here’s Why
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