Forget a social media ban. If tech companies won't stop targeting teens like me, block them
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For social media companies, profits clearly come before teens' mental health. So perhaps seriously jeopardising those profits would be the most effective way to force change.
While the impending social media ban threatens fines of up to $50 million for social media companies that do not take 'reasonable steps' to prevent workarounds, that probably isn't going to be enough of a punishment to create change. The term 'reasonable steps' is too vague, and the profits made from having under-16s illegally using social media apps would likely outweigh the fines.
It's instead worth looking to some of the more drastic steps that have been taken in the US against social media companies, for various reasons. The US government's banning of TikTok, though relating to data privacy concerns rather than mental health, did effectively lead to the app going offline in US for a day (the ban was then postponed, but is due to come back into effect in September, unless its parent company ByteDance sells its American operations to a US-owned company.)
This kind of broad government action against social media companies, threatening to entirely suspend their operations unless they cease recommending distressing or disturbing content to teenagers, might be worth trying in Australia.
But even if this doesn't happen – if there's no effective legislation from the government, and we can't change the fact that kids will be exposed to dangerous content – one of the easiest and most important ways to reduce the harm of social media is education.
Parents and schools often warn us about online predators, but not about how we should deal with content that makes us feel bad about ourselves or other people. And that's probably because adults and authorities don't fully understand what we're being exposed to.
If schools partnered with social media experts and psychologists to learn what kinds of content social media is promoted to young people, what warning signs parents should look for if their child is at risk of internet-induced mental health issues, and how young people can disengage from harmful content or learn how to better deal with it, then we might make some progress. It's akin to giving kids and teenagers a vaccine against the social media virus, rather than trying to keep it out of the country.
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Because, after all, social media doesn't cease being a cesspit of negativity and danger once children turn 16. These highly powerful algorithms profit off worsening our mental health, and they're relentless. Educating young people on how to critically engage with or distance themselves from harmful online content is a long-term form of protection.
Crisis support is available from Lifeline 13 11 14.
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