Headmaster: Counsellors inundated with social media fallout

In an opinion piece in The New Zealand Herald, Sacred Heart College (Auckland) headmaster Patrick Walsh said that the “risk and harm to young people can be extremely serious, life-changing and cause permanent harm”.

Not only are “countless hours” of educational opportunity and physical activity lost because of the addictive nature of social media, but some students have had heightened anxiety and/or insomnia.

“In a school setting, our counsellors are often inundated with the effects of misuse of social media, including poor self-esteem and social withdrawal,” Mr Walsh said.

“At the extreme end, it is a direct contributor to depression, self-harm and suicidal ideation. Deans in schools pick up the pieces every Monday morning from offensive or threatening social media posts over the weekend.”

While there are benefits from the use of social media, “it needs to be emphasised in this debate that children between 10 and 15 years of age have an increased risk in the use of social media”, Mr Walsh said.

“They often don’t have the emotional or mental maturity to cope with sustained cyberbullying and trolling, which is a challenge for adults. They frequently can’t break the cycle of searching for negative content on topics such as extreme dieting, particularly when the algorithms created by social media giants continue to serve this up to them.”

Mr Walsh said that “it is self-evident that parents must play a more active part in counselling and monitoring their children in this space. Many have failed dismally in this primary task as the prime educators of their children. Others have done their level best, but feel overwhelmed and in need of support”.

“Likewise, schools should continue the educative approach of promoting digital citizenship, but this initiative alone is not the silver bullet.”

All told, “the risks and harms to young people under 16 from the use of social media manifestly outweigh any perceived benefits”.

“I support the Government’s initiative, knowing first-hand, as an experienced educational leader, the damage caused by social media,” Mr Walsh said.

A private member’s bill proposed by MP Catherine Wedd would require social media companies to verify if someone is over 16 before allowing them access to their platforms. It reflects a similar move by Australia, which has a ban coming into effect this year.

If drawn from Parliament’s ballot and passed into law, Wedd’s bill would see financial penalties for platforms that fail to uphold age verification.

Prime Minister Chris Luxon said that Education Minister Erica Stanford would pick up work on the policy idea covered by the bill as part of her official agenda. He said that would lead to a Government bill which he would like to see become law before the end of the current parliamentary term.

FULL STORY

School leaders deal with social media harms every Monday morning (By Patrick Walsh/New Zealand Herald – subscription required)

David Seymour denies ACT shifting position on social media policy (NZ Herald)