AIBU to think banning social media for under-16s is a good idea?

Because they’re lazy as fuck and think now the government is enforcing it, they don’t have to and can just put their arms in the air and say “not my fault, blame them”.

I agree that something needs to be done, although no idea what.

Our secondary school puts photos of school events on instagram. It also provides youtube links for revision. I don’t know what the school will decide to replace this with.

We love sitting together to watch snow clearing, or tree-felling, or massive engineering on YT

And like a pp, I have a rare medical condition, and rely on the internet for support for myself and the dc.

This is another problem. Parents will now assume that things like What’s App are perfectly safe to give their children unfettered access to. Some of the stuff on the large whats app groups with early teens is awful.

This is what parents are for. Checking their kids.

There’s no telling what long term damage SM is causing alongside those young people who have taken their own lives.

Left unchecked this will only grow, it’s irresponsible for online content not to be regulated properly, as other content is.

This is what I don’t understand. There are so many parents saying they are in support of a ban because social media is awful and dangerous, and that the ban now means their children won’t be accessing it. Why haven’t these parents actually done some parenting and stopped their kids accessing stuff they disapprove of? Why are so many parents scared of saying “no” to their children? Have we really reached the point where the majority of parents need a government to do their parenting job for them?

More damage = population who allows tech companies total control over our data backed by a totallarian government. That's how they get in, they make subtle changes in the name of "good", and people fall for it.

Not unlike how trans ideology got its foot in.

As a population, we really need to start thinking "that sounds great, but hang on a minute...."

In my experience (four teens) what goes on on WhatsApp is far more concerning that social media.

Then speak to your children, and check what they are seeing and make sure their algorithim is appropriate. My god. It was also in response to nothing good ever comes from social media - which is not true!

It's not wholly bad though.
I am disabled and often house bound and have built a whole network of people with my (rare) condition through social media

Great idea and I hope they’re able to enforce it. I, for one, hope the entirety of social media is utterly abolished by the time my two little ones are teens. Wishful thinking…

That's all very well but my daughter spends 1/3 of her life with her dad and he was /is very abusive to me so co-parenting is impossible and he let her download all the apps.

There's also the reality of intense peer pressure

I'm in favour of the ban. The likes of Snapchat are designed to hook you in and keep you addicted. I am glad they can still have WhatsApp which seems far less problematic

We ALL agree SM is not good for kids - 100%. The crux of the issue is whether we want/can trust the government to restrict access, or we do it ourselves. WHO gets access to our personal data? You can bet there will be a lot of parties who will do whatever they can to get to it, for reasons that are the opposite of good.

My kids have YouTube - I full well know what's on there, but I SUPERVISE them, or they don't get access to the ipad at all.

This. Parent your kids.

Also; you don’t need a ban to stop your children using social media.

If you use it the same as watching TV you just (supervise your children) watch the show they want to watch and then when it's finished you switch it off 🤷
No need to be "clicking" on something else.

I agree. My DS extensively used YouTube videos to supplement his education, especially when he got a "bad" teacher, so he could catch up with things he didn't understand in the classroom by watching different explanations etc. He particularly liked a number of Mathematic teachers on You Tube, some even provided links to their website for free downloadable worksheets etc.

At university, it was also invaluable for him, as he started during the covid year so had no "in person" teaching and no opportunities to ask the lecturer/tutor any questions, so he just carried on using You Tube (and others) to supplement the course/lecture notes. The Uni library was also closed for the first few months, so he couldn't even borrow books to broaden his knowledge and work things out etc.

None of that did any harm, he got his First in Maths after it all and even now jokes that it was Youtube who got the First, not him as he'd used it so much over secondary school years and University.

It's entirely down to the person and parental support/control. We knew our DS was on youtube and other SM platforms a lot, but we kept an eye on him, monitored his device usage/history, etc. (which he was aware of).

Fear not! That is fake news. No list has been announced as yet.😊

This argument is bogus. The statistics show around 50% of users who previously had an account are still on there. That means 50% aren’t. It also doesn’t say how many young people who didn’t previously have social media have signed up. That is progress. Australia is a great testing ground because with every “failure” we learn something new and can implement different things. The ban is as much about a change in culture as it is the mechanics of how it works.

So many people want the perfect to be the enemy of the good. Pretty much all laws are updated over time. It used to be entirely legal to drive without a seatbelt. First it was made illegal for drivers, then for front seat passengers, now for all passengers. All the same arguments were made, how will we enforce it, it should be a personal choice, people will get round it. Now we have a culture where you wear a seatbelt, and modern vehicles make it really difficult not to. This isn’t just about what happens in 2027, it’s about what will be happening by 2037.

I’ve seen pictures of genitalia on there - something just pops up when your child is watching kids YouTube. Just because you haven’t seen it, it doesn’t mean it isn’t there.

Of course there’s bad stuff. There’s also useful content for dc eg science or music exams as below

It's apparently the left wing alternative to Twitter, ever since Elon Musk turned it into a cesspit.

I don't think they have announced a definitive list of what will/won't be banned yet. They have just listed some of the best known platforms that will be among the ones that are banned.

Personally, I think banning specific sites is the wrong approach. We will surely just end up with whack-a-mole - new platforms constantly emerging and then having to be added to the list of banned sites?

It would have been better to define the specific features which are deemed to be harmful, and to have banned those instead - either for everyone, where there is an argument to do so, or just for children if necessary.

Are your algorithms those that a 12 year old sees? No. That’s the whole bloody point. It’s not being banned for you.

It’s the state that concerns me. Will they have and use all linked data?

That people don’t think there is anything wrong with YouTube is proof they don’t understand what is on YouTube.

Because the bar isn't likely to target your online communications for ransomware or steal your I.D.

Arw you happy with your entire digital footprint being accessable to almost anyone?

Do you have the faintest idea about online security or how your data can be abused by criminals?