Should kids be banned from social media? | 7.30
Summary
TLDRThe video script addresses the rising concerns over the impact of social media on children's mental health, with a focus on the potential benefits of banning young kids from social media platforms. South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas advocates for regulation, suggesting social media companies should enforce age restrictions. The script also discusses the challenges of age verification technologies and the privacy concerns they raise. It highlights the need for a balanced approach, recognizing both the negative effects of social media addiction and its potential as a tool for support and recovery.
Takeaways
- 📈 Social media's impact on mental health, particularly among young people, is a growing concern, with increased rates of depression and self-harm being linked to excessive use.
- 🔒 There is a push for policy changes, with some governments considering banning children under 14 from having social media accounts to protect their mental health.
- 👨👩👧👦 Parents like Tony Hassen are worried about how social media affects their children, leading to withdrawal and anxiety, and are seeking ways to manage screen time.
- 📉 South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas highlights a spike in childhood anxiety and depression, attributing much of it to excessive social media use, and calls for regulation on social media companies.
- 🧠 Scientists are still researching what constitutes problematic internet use and its effects, noting issues like lack of physical activity, sleep disturbances, and potential long-term mental health impacts.
- 🧪 Professor Murat Yusel is part of an international study aiming to assess the scale of internet addiction among young people, estimating that up to 25% of young people may have problematic use.
- 🚫 The idea of a ban is met with concerns about isolating young people and the need for compassion and support, rather than just restrictions.
- 🔐 Age verification technologies are being discussed as a potential solution, but they come with privacy and digital security risks, and concerns about their effectiveness.
- 🔒 Digital Rights Watch emphasizes the vulnerability of young people when it comes to data privacy and the challenges of implementing age verification without compromising personal information.
- 🌐 There are concerns about the ability of young people to bypass restrictions using technologies like VPNs, suggesting that a balanced approach is needed to address the complex issue of social media use among children.
Q & A
What is the main concern regarding social media's impact on young people?
-The main concern is the increased prevalence of depression and self-harm, which many believe is linked to excessive social media use, particularly among children.
What has been the political response to the issue of social media's impact on children?
-There has been a significant political traction towards banning young kids from social media, with South Australia becoming the first in Australia to recommend banning children under 14 from having social media accounts.
How does Tony Hassen, a parent, describe the impact of smartphones on her children?
-Tony Hassen describes her children becoming withdrawn and anxious due to access to smartphones, and she has tried to restrict their access to mitigate these effects.
What measures has the South Australian government proposed to address the issue?
-The South Australian government has proposed that the regulation should come from social media companies themselves, suggesting that they should be responsible for not allowing children under 14 to create accounts.
What is the role of the US Surgeon General in this issue?
-The US Surgeon General has been involved in discussions with the South Australian Premier to share research findings that suggest young people may be willing to give up social media if their friends also do.
What are some of the potential side effects of excessive internet use mentioned in the script?
-Potential side effects include a lack of movement and exercise, sleep disturbances, circadian rhythm problems, and mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and loneliness.
What is the estimated percentage of young people with problematic internet use according to Professor mirat yusel?
-Professor mirat yusel estimates that as high as 25% of young people may have a problematic use of the internet.
What are some of the challenges in implementing a ban on social media for children?
-Challenges include the addictive nature of social media, the industry's powerful influence on young brains, and the difficulty in verifying age without compromising privacy and digital security.
What are some of the proposed methods for age verification on social media platforms?
-Proposed methods include physical IDs, linking with an online database, and face scanning technology that can estimate age through a camera.
What are the privacy and security concerns associated with age verification technologies?
-There are significant privacy and digital security risks associated with age verification technologies, as they may require sharing personal information and could be bypassed using a VPN.
How does Samantha Floriani from Digital Rights Watch view the proposal for age verification measures?
-Samantha Floriani expresses concerns about the necessity of sharing too much personal information for age verification technologies to work and the vulnerability of children who may not be able to consent to how their data is used.
Outlines
📱 Impact of Social Media on Mental Health
The paragraph discusses the growing concern over the impact of social media on the mental health of young people, particularly the rise in depression and self-harm. It highlights the South Australian Premier's call for a ban on social media accounts for children under 14, citing a spike in childhood anxiety and depression linked to excessive social media use. The government's recommendation is to impose regulation on social media companies to prevent underage access. The paragraph also touches on the challenges parents face in managing their children's screen time and the addictive nature of social media platforms. The US Surgeon General's research is mentioned, indicating that young people are more willing to quit social media if their peers are not using it. The potential for isolating young people with a ban is acknowledged, and the role of big industry in creating engaging content for young users is also discussed.
🔒 Privacy and Security Concerns with Age Verification
This paragraph delves into the privacy and security concerns associated with implementing age verification technologies to restrict children's access to social media. It points out that such measures could require sharing significant personal information, which poses risks, especially considering children's vulnerability to data misuse. The paragraph references a federal government report that found age verification technologies to be immature and risky. It also mentions the challenge of preventing kids from using VPNs to bypass restrictions. The paragraph concludes by emphasizing the need for a balanced approach, recognizing that while social media can contribute to mental health issues, it can also be a tool for overcoming such challenges for some individuals.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Depression
💡Self-harm
💡Social Media
💡Addictive
💡Mental Health
💡Policy Response
💡Age Verification
💡Digital Rights
💡Compassion and Support
💡VPN
Highlights
Depression and self-harm are more prevalent due to social media.
Banning young kids from social media has gained political traction.
Social media is considered a global unregulated experiment on children.
Parents are concerned about the impact of social media on their children's health.
Smartphones have led to children becoming withdrawn and anxious.
South Australian Premier calls for social media companies to impose bans on children under 14.
A spike in childhood anxiety and depression is attributed to excessive social media use.
The US Surgeon General discusses research on young people's reluctance to quit social media.
Scientists are working to define problematic internet use and its effects.
Long internet use can lead to lack of movement, sleep disturbances, and mental health issues.
An international study of 10,000 young people aims to assess the scale of internet addiction.
Estimates suggest 6-10% of the population has a problematic use of the internet, up to 25% in young people.
Social media apps use subtle features with powerful effects on brain behavior.
Ideas for age verification include physical IDs, online databases, and face scanning technology.
Age verification technologies come with privacy and digital security risks.
Children and young people are vulnerable to how their data is collected and used.
Age verification measures were considered for protecting children from online pornography.
The biggest problem is preventing kids from using VPNs to hide their identity.
There are also positive uses of the internet and social media for mental health.
A balanced approach is needed to address the issues surrounding social media and young people.
Transcripts
depression and self harm is more
prevalent because of social
media we are talking about the health of
the nation's most precious
resource Banning young kids from social
media has gained a lot of political
traction recently I think it's a giant
Global unregulated experiment on
children with the country's leaders
eager to come up with a policy response
to what many see as a gr social problem
every parent is concerned about the
impact of social media Tony Hassen is
one of those parents I have uh three
children aged 21 20 and 14 once a kid
has the phone and knowing that it's
designed to be addictive knowing how the
brains are wired to use it compulsively
it just got too hard to manage she says
access to smartphones resulted in her
children becoming withdrawn and anxious
she's tried to restrict their access
swapping social media for time together
my kids will do what they need to do in
order to get the phone so in the early
phase it was yeah Mom sure Mom and then
there were tears and then there was
anxiety and then there were crises my
gorgeous 20-year-old son has had this
LoveHate relationship with his phone
because of those crisis and now has a
dumb phone
Mr Speaker South Australian Premier
Peter melanosis says parents have good
reason to worry and they need help we've
seen a spike in childhood anxiety we've
seen massive growth in young people's
depression and lots of it is now
definitively attributable towards
excessive social media use last month
his government became the first in
Australia to recommend Banning children
under 14 from having social media
accounts
we believe the imposition should be on
social media companies themselves you
can't just go on Facebook or Instagram
or Tik Tok you've got to get an account
and that's where we believe the
regulation should come in no different
to getting a bing account Premier melan
Asus has just returned from a meeting
with the US Surgeon General to discuss
the issue the Surgeon General explained
to me how they had done research that
shows that while young people are
reluctant to give up social media
given all their friends are on it if
they know that their friends aren't on
it they too are giving up they want to
give it up social media
themselves while many politicians are
convinced of the ideas's merits
scientists are still trying to work out
what constitutes problematic internet
use and what it does if you're on the
internet for long periods you do tend to
see behaviors like a lack of movement
and exercise and you know sleep
disturbances circadian rhythm problems
and if you do that long enough you're
going to start hitting mental health
problems as well depression anxiety
loneliness Professor mirat yusel is an
expert in brain development at the qimr
berghofer in Brisbane he's part of an
international team that is putting
together a study of 10,000 young people
in order to assess the scale of the
problem the moment we're estimating that
as a population across all ages probably
6 to 10% of people have a problematic
use of the internet but in young people
that may be as high as
25% he says the issue has addiction like
qualities and a ban risks isolating
young people who need compassion and
support there's Big Industry working
against them with subtle features that
have powerful effects on their their
brain Behavior they have millions of
dollars at their disposal very good
science that they're using to maximize
engagement and attention of these young
people most social media apps already
require users to be 13 to create an
account however currently there's
nothing stopping you from just making it
up ideas for age verification include
physical IDs or linking with an online
database another is face scanning Tech
technology the companies behind which
say can accurately estimate your age
through your camera in just seconds all
of these approaches come with
significant privacy and digital security
risks and I think an important thing to
note is that in this scenario everyone
wanting to access social media would
need to go about this process not just
people under
16 Samantha floriani is from digital
Rights Watch an organization dedicated
to protecting on online privacy and
personal data she says too much personal
information must be shared to make these
tools work children and young people are
in a particularly vulnerable position
because they can't always necessarily
consent to how their data is being
collected and
used last year the federal government
looked into triing age verification
measures as a means of protecting
children from online pornography in a
report released in August it found that
age Insurance Technologies are immature
and present privacy security
implementation and enforcement risks now
nothing really has changed about the
technology in the period since August
last year to now what has changed is the
political landscape so it's clear that
the government is scrambling to try to
pick up some ideas to deal with online
harms and this is what they've landed
on the biggest problem is preventing
kids from hiding their identity through
a virtual private Network or VPN which
encrypts personal data online allowing
users to sidestep website blocks and
firewalls anyone who thinks that
teenagers are not Savvy enough to figure
out how to get around something like
this I think is kind of kidding
themselves just as many people end up
with mental health challenges or
physical health challenges or you know
addiction challenges there are also
quite a substantial number of people who
are in those circumstances who get
themselves out by using the internet or
social media so we just got to keep a
balanced approach
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