I HAVE read with interest recently of the ‘Let Them Be Kids’ campaign that is being promoted by The Courier Mail and other newspapers.
The campaign aims to restrict social media use for children under 16, with an even stronger focus on restrictions for children under 14.
There is no doubt that social media is having a devastating impact on our children, and that the world has seen a phenomenal rise in mental health issues since the inception of social media from about 2008.
This year, at Coolum High, we have had the benefits of hearing from Dr Mike Nagle, from the University of the Sunshine Coast, who has reaffirmed that the adolescent brain is in a unique state of development that makes people in this age group more driven by their emotions and peer acceptance, and less able to regulate their behaviour. It is a particularly vulnerable age.
Over time, I have seen firsthand the devastating effects of social media on young people. As human beings, we are built for love and kindness, and we aren’t particularly well-equipped for handling abuse. Among the many issues of social media is that we are allowing a whole range of things that we should be shielding our young people from into our homes and, more importantly, into their minds. Being a teenager should be a time to learn and grow and make mistakes, in an environment that is largely safe because the adults around us have made it that way. Unfortunately, the social media world is anything but safe, and any misstep we make will last in image and print forever. It is a world that lacks any regulation, that stands in stark contrast to our real world, in which there are more regulations than ever.
Leading voices are starting to take note of the devastating effects of social media on young people. Queensland’s Chief Health Officer, Dr John Gerrard, has said that “the increase in self-harm events observed among young Australians since about 2008 looks just like a new virus epidemic. This period coincides with the introduction of smartphones and social media apps.” We wouldn’t stand back and allow our children to be abused or exploited or harmed in any other aspect of their world, yet strangely, social media has seemed to be beyond the regulations that we would put in place in any other arena.