New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria State Governments are calling for the minimum age to use social media being raised to 16. It comes as the NSW Premier announces a social media summit later this year to explore the issue.

New South Wales

New South Wales, Queensland, and Victoria State Governments are pushing for the minimum age for social media use to be raised to 16. This initiative follows the announcement by the NSW Premier of a social media summit to address related concerns.

The rise of screen time for children is a significant concern among parents, as the exposure to social media at a young age can lead to cyberbullying and other negative experiences. There is evidence suggesting a link between social media exposure and increasing mental health challenges among young people.

A notable statistic highlights that the rate of self-harm among individuals aged 15 to 19 has apparently doubled from 2008 to 2022. Clinical psychologist Lynne Worsley emphasizes that excessive screen time inhibits the development of vital social skills.

The NSW Government aims to address these issues at the social media summit planned for later this year and is advocating for the Federal Government to implement a national age restriction. The NSW Premier supports setting 16 as the minimum age for platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Should the Federal Government not act, NSW may consider independent action to enforce this age restriction.



Calls for age restrictions on social media use

It's a tough task, dealing with tantrums and milestones, with parents often turning to screen time as an easy fix. But as kids grow up, screens open up the sometimes dangerous world of social media. People like, they can just anger people by just making fun of them and stuff on social media and stuff, and cyber bullying. There's absolutely no doubt that there is a direct link between exposure to social media and the increasing prevalence and complexity of mental health challenges amongst our young people. The range of people aged 15 to 19 self-harming between 2008 and 2022, apparently doubling. Clinical psychologist Lynne Worsley sees it first hand every day. When they're scrolling through and they're looking at things and they're not looking at each other. And they're not experiencing each other and giving each other feedback about different sort of social norms and so on. So they're not learning the social skills that you would get from normal interactions. The State Government says it's committed to changing the direction with the summit on social media to be held in October. And the Premier has thrown his support behind an age restriction for apps such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. 16 should be, in my view, the minimum age for social media use. He's calling upon the Federal Government to lead the charge, but says NSW will look how it can go it alone if it needs to. We're not going to wait for action at the national level if we deem it important to change. Kate Cardwell for 10 News First.

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