Youth SNS ban enforced in Australia

Hello, my name is Yang Won-ju, a father of twins who is serious about his children’s education.

Not long ago, I heard some really good news. the Australian government To protect youth under 16 years of age It is said that it has been decided to prevent youth from using SNS through the ‘Online Safety Act Amendment’. As it is close to being passed by Congress, there is a high possibility that it will become the first youth SNS ban.

The main point of this bill is that social media companies such as Instagram, no see.

To achieve this, the plan is to require strict age verification for users in the future. It is not possible even with parental consent, and it is not possible even if you already have an account, so there are no exceptions.

Last year, France proposed banning the use of social media by teenagers under 15. The United States requires social media companies to obtain parental consent for children under 13 to use smart devices. The United Kingdom has established guidelines banning the use of smartphones in schools and even has a policy prohibiting the sale of smartphones to anyone under the age of 16. We are reviewing it.

Other countries have also made efforts to solve this problem in their own way. However, this was the first time that a bill was as strong as it is now.

Although it may seem desirable from a distance, there are many opposing opinions. In particular, Elon Musk, CEO of X (Twitter) and the hottest man these days, is very vehemently opposed to it. Perhaps it is because he considers freedom of expression to be an important value. “This bill seems like a trick to control internet access for all Australians,” he mocked.

We have looked at how our country is approaching this issue, but it is still in its infancy. I think it would be no exaggeration to say that the pear quality is at a decent level. Compared to other countries, Korea’s smartphone overdependence syndrome and SNS addiction are by no means falling behind. In our country’s National Assembly In addition to the amendment to the Information Protection Act to set a daily limit on SNS use for youth under 16 years of age, A bill is being proposed to allow people over 14 years of age to join SNS. Although this attempt is desirable, it seems to fall far short.

However, our country’s National Human Rights Commission views this issue from a strange perspective. This is because in April 2023, it was determined that the school rule was incorrect, which was to collect mobile phones at schools when going to school and then stop prohibiting possession and use of mobile phones while staying at school. It was believed that this regulation excessively restricted students’ general freedom of action and freedom of communication.

The interesting thing is that, contrary to the recommendations of the Human Rights Commission, this school banning cell phone use Not only did they decide to keep the existing regulations as is, but they also created an additional regulation that treats students’ cell phones as disruptive items in class.

As a result, the Human Rights Commission even issued a press release in August 2024, expressing regret for the school that did not accept the Commission’s recommendations. It’s surprising that the school and the Human Rights Commission have to fight so hard over something like this.

The school my children attend is also refusing to return their cell phones, so I am advocating for this to be established as a school rule and enforced, but it doesn’t seem easy.

I always say this, but I felt very sad because it seemed like a judgment that made me think that I should ignore the harm caused to good citizens and good students in order to protect the human rights of some people.

In fact, this kind of control can feel very dangerous in a society where freedom is as common as air. However, the reason why this is being done in Australia is because statistics show that more than 60% of teenagers aged 14 to 17 have viewed extremely harmful online content such as drugs, extreme choices, self-harm, and illegal adult content through SNS on smartphones.

In addition, there are countless serious problems that can arise due to SNS addiction.

Addiction to alcohol, smoking, or gambling clearly shows on the outside that a person is broken. However, cases such as brain-damaging SNS addiction cannot be easily identified. Not only is it difficult to recognize, but it is also not easy to prove causality. In that respect, I hope that a social consensus can be reached as quickly as possible so that children can receive education and grow safely.

For that reason, I strongly support this bill to ban Australian social media. Starting with this, I hope that many countries, including our country, will recognize this seriousness and do the right thing for the mental health of young people.

And of course, adults should also be careful not to become addicted, right? ^^

One-line summary: Is there anything more important to adolescent children than proper growth and psychological safety?