Senior students back social media ban for under-16s

The “What is Your Stand” project, led by Dr Deborah Stevens and involving Catholic bioethicist Dr John Kleinsman as research collaborator, recently gathered the opinions of more than 1500 year 13 students across the spectrum of New Zealand secondary schools on the question of a social media ban.

The project found that 45 per cent of year 13 students are in favour of the under 16 ban, while 35 per cent are opposed and 20 per cent are neutral.

The results of the research were released after the Prime Minister and Education Minister announced a bill would be introduced to Parliament to ban under 16s from social media use.

The Online Safety (Minimum Age and Child Safety Risk Assessment) Bill, introduced to Parliament on August 24, puts the pressure on social media companies to take “reasonable steps” to check users are of age and includes the establishment of an online safety regulator and penalty regime, Radio New Zealand reported.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon admitted it was unlikely the bill would have its first reading before the end of this parliamentary term, and it would take some time to get the legislation through Parliament and set up the regulator.

“That’ll be something we have to pick up on the other side of the election, but I hope that many other parties will look at the bill and say ‘that’s a really sensible proposal’.”

The “What is Your Stand” project stated that while the 16- to 18-year-olds it surveyed would not be affected by a theoretical ban, they are in the best position of all to understand the ramifications from their lived experience.

The researchers were heartened, but not surprised, by the variety, passion and insights of the participants’ comments. The students show a deep awareness of the complexity of the issue and a rejection of a simplistic binary no-ban/ban approach.

In the students’ own words, social media “can significantly harm wellbeing socially, mentally and physically through harmful ideas and promotions” and is “also very bad for attention span and social skills”. On the other hand, it is at the same time “an amazing tool to connect people” and for helping “younger people learn more about the world politically and culturally” so as to “be more conscious of the world around them”.

Many participants were of the view that a ban could be easily circumvented, observing that this would encourage lying, dishonesty and “rebellion”. This highlights the critical importance of education concerning the harms of social media, both through the school curriculum and community education.

The “What is Your Stand” researchers added that it is imperative that the views of young people are a part of the debate.

FULL STORY

Nothing About Us Without Us (What is Your Stand)

National goes it alone on social media ban for under-16s (Radio New Zealand)

Govt pushes ahead with social media ban for under-16s (Radio New Zealand)

Government moves to ban U16s from social media (Beehive)

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