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https://theconversation.com/instead-of-banning-kids-from-online-spaces-heres-what-we-should-offer-them-instead-238798>
"Banning children under 16 from social media sounds like a seductive idea. For
overwhelmed parents navigating their kids’ lives in a digital age, this move
from the Australian government may seem like welcome relief.
But evidence shows it’s highly unlikely bans will positively impact the youth
mental health crisis in this country. Indeed, bans may make our children even
more vulnerable online.
Children and young people go online primarily to socialise with their peers.
Online spaces are one of the few avenues our overscheduled children have to
interact freely with each other, which is crucial for their wellbeing.
A social media ban will close down this avenue and force children into
lower-quality online environments. Children already say adults don’t understand
what they do online and are underequipped to support them.
A blanket ban affirms parents “don’t get it”. Kids will find ways to get around
the ban. And if their interactions turn sour on social media, the fact they
were not supposed to be there will make it more difficult to reach out to
adults for help.
Crucially, demands for blanket bans – challenging to implement – also force
tech platforms into “compliance mode”. They divert company resources away from
designing better online environments for children and into litigation."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
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mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
